The resident minister East, William Juana Smith, has officially opened Marie Stopes clinic in Kailahun town.
In his opening remarks the country director Maries Stopes Sierra Leone, Martin Smith, expressed satisfaction over the large turnout and assured the people of Kailahun of good medical facilities.
The district medical officer in Kailahun, Dr Santique Sesay, lauded the efforts of Maries Stopes and therefore encouraged the people of Kailahun and its environs to bring cases to the clinic, “as the centre is here to help you all.”
Giving a brief background of Maries Stopes Sierra Leone the clerical services manager, Monica Green, stated that, “Maries Stopes is a renowned medical organization that started its operation in this country as far back as 1986 and its presence in the Kailahun district is a blessing to the entire community”.
In his keynote address the resident minister East, William Juana Smith, said the day marked an important milestone in the developmental history of Kailahun town and the district as a whole as they all would benefit from Maries Stopes’ services.
He told the gathering that the All People’s Congress government recognized that the health delivery system in the country was an acute crisis, pointing out that diseases such as malaria and Tuberculosis were prevalent and widespread while HIV/AIDS prevalent was estimated at 4.9%.
He said, “the government is committed to providing affordable health services to all Sierra Leoneans…the APC government believes in education and health… therefore the government is making positive strides to improve and upgrade the health, sanitation and infrastructure facilities in all locations in the country”.
Mr Juana Smith said Maries Stopes specialized in sexual and reproductive health care services but had intervention in other areas.
He appreciated Maries Stopes’ numerous interventions, saying that they went a long way in complementing the work of the ministry of Health and Sanitation which had been encountering acute shortage of trained medical staff.
As a government, the minister reiterated, they were committed to empowering the local council authorities so that they could take up their responsibilities of delivering affordable health care services to their people as Maries Stopes was working with the National AIDS Secretariat (NAS) which might be devolved to Local Councils before the end of this year.
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