By: Fatmata Grace Okekearu | Bo City
In a historic milestone for healthcare delivery in Sierra Leone’s southern region, the Bo District Medical Store (DMS), located at the Sanitary Compound, has finally received a permanent solar power system ending years of operating without electricity.
For many years, the lack of power severely hampered the facility’s operations. Staff were forced to perform basic tasks like printing invoices, updating inventory, and entering data into the Logistics Management Information System (LMIS) at off-site locations with electricity.
Despite these limitations, dedicated staff such as District Information Officer (DIO) Muctarr Fofana and District Logistics Officer (DLO) Salamy remained committed. Their resilience often required long-distance commutes between Bo DMS and the SLRC Community Health Center (CHC) to ensure continuity of essential services.
“At times, we used our phone lights at night to count stock and update inventory cards,” one staff member shared. “Yet, DIO Muctarr still managed to submit 100% of LMIS reports for most of 2024.”
When DIO Ishmail Kamara joined the Bo team from Koinadugu, he immediately embraced the challenge and strengthened the team’s tireless efforts to maintain service delivery under difficult conditions.
The Bo District Health Management Team (DHMT) was recently recognized at the National Health Summit as one of Sierra Leone’s best-performing DHMTs a well-deserved honor driven by the transformative leadership of District Medical Officer (DMO), Dr. Negebai.
Having witnessed the DMS’s operational challenges firsthand, Dr. Negebai went beyond acknowledgment and took decisive action. After temporarily providing a generator to assist with invoice printing, he escalated the issue to multiple stakeholders. In one day, he wrote 11 separate emails to 11 different partners, passionately advocating for a sustainable energy solution and improved infrastructure for the DMS.
That persistence paid off. Over the past weekend, a technical team arrived to install a comprehensive solar power system and renovate the office space. The newly installed system now powers over eight computers, printers, ceiling fans, and even cold-chain equipment used to store oxytocin an essential medicine for maternal care.
“This is more than electricity it’s progress, hope, and legacy,” said District Pharmacist Pharm Borbor Bah. “Thanks to Dr. Negebai’s intervention, our environment is now more conducive, our services are more timely, and our morale is soaring.”
Special appreciation was extended to DHMT Accountant Monya Sheriff and the unnamed partner who funded the solar project.
As lights illuminate the Bo DMS and computers come to life, the facility stands as a symbol of what visionary leadership, dedication, and partnership can achieve.
“You have not only lit up our building,” staff echoed gratefully, “you have reignited our spirit.”