By: Mohamed Sahr
Responding to the urgent need to provide adequate prosthetic treatments to people with disabilities, the Ministry of Health, with funds from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has urged occupants within the premises of the National Rehabilitation Centre to evacuate. The ministry made this statement during a press conference held on Thursday, October 31st, 2024, at the Youyi building in Freetown.
Professor Dr. Charles Senesie, Deputy Minister of Health, revealed that some individuals have encroached upon half a portion of the National Rehabilitation Center (NRC) land. Senesie said the National Rehabilitation Center was established to ensure that the youths of Sierra Leone are reformed to make positive outcomes of their lives and talents in mapping and monitoring development activities in the country.
He mentioned that the structures erected on the land have made it difficult for vehicles to access the premises of NRC, affirming that such an act could influence donor partners to turn their attention elsewhere. He revealed that the ministry is set to receive 24 million dollars to enhance quality healthcare delivery at the center.
Minister Senesie noted that the funding will not just be disbursed but that the donor partners will have to come and assess the environment to determine whether it is conducive for such a massive project. He, therefore, entreated press men and every stakeholder to prevail upon the people who have encroached on the land to exit the edifice of the National Rehabilitation Center before Sierra Leone could miss out on the highly anticipated opportunity.
The minister ended his speech by highlighting some of the remarkable work that would be carried out at the center. Prominent among them is to establish a point of care data collection and sharing at every O&P clinic; provide opportunities for professionals in O&P clinics to learn and improve their skills; create an effective system to regularly import P&O supplies into Sierra Leone; prepare clinics with the right environment to be successful and productive; introduce tools that would help clinics run better or improve O&P devices for patients; and expand services to communities that are far or have trouble reaching the clinic.
He, however, intimated that the abovementioned pointers are only achievable if everyone could come together to talk to the people who have occupied the land to leave so that the project officials can do their work freely and effectively.
Dr. Mustapha Kabba, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, and Clinical craved the media’s indulgence to help take the message to the people so that they would add their voices in prevailing on those who have deliberately settled at the National Rehabilitation Center to think otherwise. He noted that everyone needs to approach this issue as patriotic Sierra Leoneans since it is going to be in the corporate interest of the people of Sierra Leone.
Kabba asserted that the money that would be disbursed is not just going to come and disappear but that it would be used to improve human capacity and infrastructure and establish systems that would rehabilitate people who are affected by amputations that could be caused by accidents, diabetes, or any other means that one may lose his or her leg.
Making an overview presentation of the center, Ismaila Kebbie, Program Manager at the National Rehabilitation Centre, Dr. Ishmaila Kebbie, asserted that the ministry remains focused on strengthening the capacity of the Sierra Leonean O&P sector to sustainably increase production and care at the National Rehabilitation Center over the next four years.
He said the facility currently provides prosthetics, orthotic services, clue foot treatment, and assistive technology to people with disabilities.
Andrew Sorie, Senior Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health, said that over time, the facility was known for providing affordable prosthetic treatments to people living with disabilities. However, the entire center was encroached upon by occupants, and it turned out to be a busy market setting, especially at the entrance.
He added that many people had built makeshift dwellings, which has led to congestion and the center’s inaccessibility.
The Senior Permanent Secretary encouraged the people to leave the premises willingly, as the twenty-four million dollar investment provided to the people of Sierra Leone through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology would be properly implemented. “The Ministry of Health prioritizes the National Rehabilitation Centre to ensure that vulnerable people get back to society,” he said.
Sorie mentioned that technologically advanced prosthetics would be possible with support from MIT. The investment focuses on building Sierra Leoneans’ capacity in prosthetic delivery, creating infrastructure, enhancing data and clinical components, and maintaining the supply chain.
