Sierra Leone News: Environment Officers brace up for the Challenge

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Health Environment Officers in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation recently concluded the Environmental and Social Management framework at the Shangri-La Conference Hall, along Kingston upon Hull Way, Lumley Beach. The main objective of the disclosure session was for environmental officers in the ministry around the country to look at the four core programmes within the Environmental Health Directorate to be supported by Government in collaboration with the World Bank. According to the Director of Environmental Health in the ministry, Dr. Ansumana Sillah, environmental health and sanitation must be taken seriously to prevent and keep preventable diseases at bay through proper environmental and social management in the most hygiene manner. He noted that the four programmes include the health system strengthening, capacity for community health workers, national emergency medical service and the expanded sanitary inspection compliance and enforcement. These programmes, he maintained, will greatly assist government and health partners to reduce the huge amount spent on curing preventable diseases, which should have been redirected to other health development programmes. Public Health Superintendent, Christiana Fortune, informed colleagues that the disclosure session will further enhance their work as public health officers, and with support from World Bank, it is hoped that the environmental and social management framework will be implemented to improve environmental sanitation, countrywide. She said the programmes will prevent patients from paying frequent visits to hospitals and health units in their communities, which means less will be spent on health. Juliana Kamanda, another public health officer, made a power point presentation on Government’s two new environmental and emergency health programmes, which include the expanded sanitary inspection compliance and enforcement(ESICOM) which is the reintroduction of sanitary officers and the national emergency medical service, which will be the ambulance and all paramedic emergency nationwide. Other contributions from the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the Decentralization Secretariat gave further insight into the health environmental office, which will serve as a guide when dispensing their responsibilities in the various localities they will find themselves. By Ade Campbell Wednesday April 06, 2016

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