The leading telecoms company in the country, Orange Sierra Leone has launched the Maternal Health Project in Sierra Leone to safeguard the health of pregnant Women, lactating mothers and under-five Children in Kroo Bay community. The project which is expected to complement the Free Health Care policy (FHC) of government has restored new hope in a community inhabited by 21, 770 people. Recent studies have shown that Kroo Bay is one of the most densely populated communities in Freetown.
The project brings together Orange Sierra Leone, Ministry of Health and Sanitation and ICAP global health. It is a pilot project, but plans to extend it to other parts of the country exist.
The Maternal Health project came as result of sad occurrences that hunt Sierra Leone’s health sector in spite of the FHC policy’s existence. Sierra Leone has been rated as the most unsafe place for a woman to give birth. The country still finds it difficult to catch up with the United Nations Benchmark of ensuring only 70 women must die out of 100,000 live births.
The Orange Sierra Leone Maternal Health project resonates with GOAL-SIX of 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and CLUSTER-4 of government’s Mid-term National Plan 2019-2023.
Speaking at the launching ceremony, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Orange Sierra Leone, Aminata Kane N’jai told the audience that the launch of the project was about respecting mothers’ health and safety.
Mothers, she went on, were worried about the health and safety of their babies adding that in the process they lost their lives.
“Maternal health remains the biggest challenge in Sierra Leone as 1 out of 70 mothers stand a risk of dying while giving birth,” she pointed out.
The Orange CEO also emphasised that Sierra Leone had the Highest infant mortality rate adding that 1,165 deaths were recorded at 100, 000 births.
With the launch of the project, Madam N’Jai hopes to see a quick and positive turn around in the community. The Orange CEO also told the audience that ‘Orange Sierra Leone is about love and care.’
The telecoms company, she said, stepped in not only to provide financial assistance but also technical care to mitigate the impact of maternal and child deaths.
“This is the kind of support we will be providing for the community,” she assured. Madam N’jai also assured Kroobay residents that the project was a pilot one in the community as it would be extended to other communities.
In her contribution, Dr Hawa Turay said her agency would collaborate with Orange Sierra Leone and Ministry of Health and Sanitation to combat maternal and child health in Sierra Leone.
Madam Turay told the audience that her agency had gained reputation over the years for supporting the ministry in the implementation of several projects notable among them was the Infection Prevention and Control project.
She also assured that her agency would stand by Sierra Leone to ensure that less than 70 deaths are recorded out of 100, 000 births.
“Our aim is to provide support to optimise maternal health services,” she assured.
A representative of the National Telecommunications Commission, Amara Brewah saw awareness-raising as an integral component of the project. He is of the view that the people have to be constantly informed about the maternal health services so that they could know exactly what to do when they are in need of the service.
“The people must be informed about what to do when they get pregnant,” he emphasised. Mr Brewah was quite hopeful that the provision of adequate and accurate information about the project would bring about positive change adding that the number of maternal deaths was not good for Sierra Leone.
In the public education campaign, he went on, community health workers should be utilised in educating women about maternal health risks in the community.
“Pregnant women who presents clear health risks should be encouraged to visit health facilities in the community,” he appealed.
Lactating mothers, Brewah continued, with high health risks should be educated to seek appropriate care in the community hospital. Mr Brewah pointed out delayed access to health services as one of the principal causes of maternal deaths in the country.
He reiterated that the overall goal of the project was to improve maternal health services noting that government had made significant effort in that direction. The Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information who represented the Minister established a close linkage between a malfunctioning health system and depressed socio-economic indicators in the country.
“Failure in the health system will significantly affect the other productive sectors of the economy,” he opined.
He also emphasised the need for an effective public education system among pregnant and lactating mothers in Kroo Bay community. He entreated Orange Sierra Leone to use social media and other conventional media platforms to pass on information to the target groups.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Thomas Takpawu Samba told the audience that FHC remains a top priority of government. He said MoHS had made significant gains in delivering quality health service to the people of Sierra Leone.
“In 2019, about 707 deaths are recorded out of 100, 000 (One Hundred Thousand) births,” he said.
He however assured the people of Sierra Leone that MoHS remained committed to meeting the target of recording less than 70 deaths per 100, 000. The keynote address was made by the Minister of Health, Austin Kembay.
The Minister is appalled for a woman to get pregnant and be worried about her maternal health and safety.
“The status of a pregnant woman should be the concern of everyone in the community. The child to be given birth could be a President, a good medical doctor or a good teacher,” Minister Kembay said.
The health minister also informed Sierra Leone that his ministry had been working relentlessly to bring down the number to less than 70 deaths. He called on health workers to manage such pre-existing conditions as obesity and other health implications among pregnant women and lactating mothers.
“Managing those health conditions leads to a successful delivery,” he expressed hope. He drew the attention of health workers to pre-conception, conception, labour and delivery and post-delivery adding that they are critical periods in handling maternal and child deaths in communities. The launching of the project by the Minister formed the high point of the occasion.