The People’s Alliance for Reproductive Health Advocacy (PARHA) has welcomed the appointment of Dr. Austin Hinga Demby as Minister of Health and Sanitation and says his vast experience and impressive track record in managing public health emergencies and health care systems would be useful in responding to the challenges that confront Sierra Leone’s health care system.
A statement from the alliance urges the new Minister to work collaboratively with both local and international organisations by strengthening existing frameworks for coordinated interventions.
Dr. Demby who is a virologist and epidemiologist is a founding member of the Centre for Disease Control's Global AIDS Programme and helped lead efforts to establish HIV offices in five African countries.
He served as Director and Deputy Principal for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), where he managed the department's $2 Billion dollar global HIV/AIDS portfolio. He reportedly played a key role in the U.S. government's response to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone.
PARHA is currently working with State and non-state actors to enact a Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health (SMRH) law that seeks to help reform the health sector and also prioritize the reproductive health rights of women and young girls in Sierra Leone.
Since its establishment about 4 years ago, PARHA coalition has collaborated with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, local and international non-governmental organizations, as well as notable figures in the society, to address the legal and institutional bureaucracies that impede access to sexual reproductive health right services in the country.
The organization has actively supported the country’s law reform process through consultations over drafted bills, among other ventures.
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