Friends of Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH ) now Friends of Maternity Hospitals a local non Governmental Organisation has donated seven Solar Suitcases with several facilities to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, as a demonstration of their continued support to the Free Health Care Initiative.
Isha Daramy Leader of the Friends of Maternity Hospitals said that she was invited to attend a conference in California called Global Women Leadership Network where she met Laura Starcher Co-Founder and Executive Director of ‘We Care Solar’.
Madam Daramy said she explained about the situation in Sierra Leone and how such solar kits will help to aid the maternity problem after which Laura Starcher then accepted to assist and donated the seven solar suitcases worth about two thousand dollars ($2,000 ) each.
Speaking about the facilities of the suitcases, the leader of Friends of Maternity Hospitals said that the system is user friendly, durable, nearly maintenance free and easy to carry and it can be used by anyone whether illiterate as it has colours to identify their functions.
Madam Daramy further disclosed that with the solar panel suitcase, a pregnant woman will be able hear her baby’s heartbeat through the facility of the Fetal Doppler which the nurse can use to trace the heartbeat of the child “this will serve as motivation to other pregnant women to go to the hospital so that they can hear their child’s heartbeat.”
She added that the solar suitcase also has a charger, solar panel which can receive current from the sun and store it, headphone which doctors can use to listen for certain information while doing their work, laptop chargers and even chargers for phones as communication is very important.
About the area of distribution she said that the seven solar suitcases have to be distributed to seven districts which are Port Loko, Kambia, Koinadugu, Tonkolili, Bombali, Pujehun and Bo districts.
However since there are one thousand one hundred and nineteen Peripheral Health Units (1,119 PHU’s) in the country, and twenty two (22) government hospitals in the country there is need for an increase in this number “especially as we approach the rainy season as this kit can only be used as a standby electricity supply.” she appealed to others for help so that the remaining kits will be bought and distributed all over the country.
Earlier the Public Relations Officer at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation Abass Kamara in his welcome remarks said that the country has overcome great challenge in the health care system in the country and this is due to the assistance the ministry gets from their Non Governmental Organisation partners.
He said they appreciate the work of the Friends of Maternity Hospitals as the Solar Suitcases installed will be used for the right purpose and this will cut down on the number of maternal mortality rates in the country through the FHC Initiative.
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