By Nasratu Kargbo
Sierra Leonean’s Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh has pledged the Government's commitment to ensure expanded access to surgical services for all, across Sierra Leone.
Speaking at the 64th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) on the theme “Access to safe and affordable surgical anesthesia care in West Africa”, Jalloh said they will expand until every Sierra Leonean can access quality surgical services that they may need regardless of their income.
He said despite the gains made they are aware of the work that needed to be done, stating that going forward they will pay attention to regulation, quality assurance, and remuneration of surgeons across the public and private sectors.
“In Sierra Leone, we are aware of the importance of investing in surgery and not just for individual and population-led health gains but for broad based economic growth and posterity,” he said.
Highlighting the strides made in the sector, the VP explained that the country has made progress in expanding access to surgical services in rural and hard-to-reach communities; he also gave statistics on the surgical volume rate which according to him has increased from four hundred to five hundred and six procedures on one hundred thousand people since 2012.
He said there is an increase in the number of surgeries performed in public facilities, stating that 61% of all procedures and 85% of c-sections are done in the public sector. He said there has been an increase in surgery performed in the rural areas and that maternal deaths have reduced.
The VP said surgery plays a critical role in healthcare; acknowledging that surgeons and surgical teams are the custodians of healing, restoring health, and transforming lives.
He noted that finance is one of the biggest obstacles to achieving universal health coverage and that one of the best ways for the government to generate finances to expand coverage is by making surgery widely available.
He said, “Recent studies estimate that the future to improve surgical care in low and middle-income countries will translate into 12.3 trillion of lost economic output by 20230”.
The 64th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) attracted surgeons from all of the West African countries. The conference ends tomorrow, 7th March.
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