By: Ilyasa Baa
The Sierra Leone Medical and Dental Association (SLMDA) will engage Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the media on Saturday to discuss the way forward to achieving Universal Health Coverage by 2030.
The Media Congress, according to the Public Relations Officer of SLMDA, Dr. Peter Mac-Jajua , will bring together Doctors, Dental Specialists, Civil Society Activists and Media Practitioners on the theme: Improving the welfare of medical Doctors in Sierra Leone: the way forward to rebranding the health system. He said every year the Association holds two congresses at the start of the year and at the end of the year as a way of improving on the country’s Universal Health Coverage. He noted that issues having to do with the improvement of the health sector will be discussed and recommendations brought forward for adoption into the system. “ We need to know how far we have gone in achieving the Universal Health Coverage which countries are trying to achieve at all cost”, stated the PRO. He added that the Association is working tirelessly to achieve the 2030 target thereby creating the enabling environment for Sierra Leoneans to achieve equitable access to health care. He said Universal health coverage means that all people have access to the health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship, noting that it includes the full range of essential health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care. He lamented that the country has not achieved WHO’s standard with regards the patient- Doctor ratio wherein the country has less than 500 trained and qualified Doctors to serve a population of over seven million. He said the profession is very much lucrative that is one of the reasons why young Doctors leave the country in search of greener pastures. He expressed the need for better condition of service so the Doctors will be more motivated to work in country.
There will be a scientific symposium in the morning hours followed by a lengthy discussion at the New Brookfield’s Hotel.
Currently, at least half of the people in the world do not receive the health services they need. About 100 million people are pushed into extreme poverty each year because of out-of-pocket spending on health.
It could be recalled that in April 2010 Sierra Leone launched “Free Health Care Medical Insurance”, a system of free healthcare for pregnant and breast-feeding women and children under five. The initial set up cost of the scheme was $19 million and it was expected to save the lives of more than a million mothers and children.
The scheme is funded mainly by the United Kingdom and the United Nations who paid to refurbish hospitals, supply drugs and pay healthcare professionals’ wages.
Experts in the health sector have opined that to make health for all a reality, we need individuals and communities who have access to high quality health services so that they take care of their own health and the health of their families; skilled health workers providing quality, people-centered care; and policy-makers committed to investing in universal health coverage.
“Universal health coverage should be based on strong, people-centered primary health care. Good health systems are rooted in the communities they serve. They focus not only on preventing and treating disease and illness, but also on helping to improve well-being and quality of life”, they Experts concluded.
