By Kemo Cham
The Ministry of Health on Saturday received a major boost with the arrival of medicines and crucial medical supplies on board a Brussels Airlines repatriation flight.
The cargo valued US$130, 000 and weighing nearly 18 tons, contains critical medical commodities procured by UNICEF on behalf of the government for its Free Health Care Initiative (FHCI) which targets the most vulnerable members of the population – pregnant women, babies under five years and lactating mothers.
The Sierra Leone Government introduced the FHCI in response to a high rate of maternal and infant mortality in the country in 2010.
Under it, treatment is supposed to be provided free of cost for the targeted population, although the scheme has been shrouded in controversy, amidst allegations of theft of the drugs by healthcare workers, among others.
The FHCI has been supported by several donors, including UK Aid, the European Union and USAID.
This cargo arrived at a time when Sierra Leone and the world battles the coronavirus pandemic. The plane arrived on the first day of a three-day nationwide lockdown.
The cargo, according to a statement from the European Union office in the country, also included a consignment for the World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office, among them 140 litres of glycerol, one of the ingredients used in the production of alcohol-based hand rub, which is currently not available on the local market.
“This is a crucial IPC component for the prevention of infections,” said the statement shared via the Mission’s social media platforms.
“The European Union, in collaboration with the Government of Germany and Brussels Airlines has worked hard to facilitate the airlifting of these medical supplies to Freetown,” the statement added.
It also praised the role played by the local consular EU coordination and the German Federal Foreign Office repatriation program for their role.
The flight, which has already departed back to Brussels, took along with it 135 stranded tourists and European nationals to their home countries.
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