As part of efforts to improve the appalling health situation in the country, on Sunday twenty three medical officers from Nigeria arrived in Freetown to render voluntary services in the health sector of Sierra Leone. The service of the Nigerian medical officers is believed to be part of effort to strengthen the long existing bilateral relationship between the two nations.
Anozae M. Ochuku is the Deputy Director in charge of Administration and Finance at the Directorate of Technical Aid Core at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja Nigeria who also doubles as Head of the Nigerian Medical delegates to Sierra Leone. He said the essence of the Nigerian medical volunteers being in Sierra Leone was to help boost the continued deplorable health situation in the country.
He said a couple of years back, Nigeria used to give cash donations to other African countries of which Sierra Leone had benefited a lot. The Head of the Nigerian medical delegation said their country had realized that it had a pool of highly skilled man power maintaining that it could send some of these skilled men and women to share their expertise with countries that had been receiving aid from them.
Mr. Ochuku said they had earlier received a request of hundred and thirty medical officers’ especially in areas relating to medicine and it allied fields from Sierra Leone.
He mentioned that Sierra Leone and Nigeria had a long standing history of bilateral relation and cultural similarities adding that strengthening these relationships was critical to Nigeria. He noted that “it is just typical of Africans to help their brothers. It is against this background that we have sent you trained and professional medical personnel that we regard as one of our best.” He further pointed out that “each of these medical officers has at least a ten years experience in the medical field.”
The Head of the Nigerian medical Team stated that “we hope the presence of our doctors, nurses and mid wives will help you improve you health sector and eventually enable you to also send volunteers to other countries.”
He however expressed serious concern about the wellbeing of their officers particularly pointing to accommodation, transportation and humane treatment.
Sheku Tejan Koroma the Minister of Health and Sanitation said Sierra Leone needed over three hundred medical doctors but currently had one hundred adding that there was an acute need for trained and qualified health workers.
He appraised the support of the Nigerian government to Sierra Leone maintaining that the two countries had been benefiting from each other for long.
The Minister noted that “we have been preparing for these people over a year, and we will ensure that they enjoy their stay here.
The ministry will also make sure that these officers are distributed right through the country equitably.”
The minister also hastened to reveal that “we have verified the qualifications of these doctors, nurses and midwives and it is pleasing to know that each one of them has a minimum of ten years experience in the field.”
By Abdul Samba Brima
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