August 11, 2017 By Hassan Gbassay Koroma
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation on Wednesday 9th August, 2017 officially launched its 2016 and second Annual Health Sector Performance Review Report (HSPRR).
The report highlighted the successes and challenges of the ministry to render quality health service delivery in the country.
While launching the report at the Catco International Hotel on Wilkinson Road in Freetown, the Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr. Abu Bakarr Fofanah, started off with the adage ‘in management, if you can’t measure, you can’t manage well’
He stated that for the Ministry to achieve its aim, they needed to have a reference point that would tell them how far they have gone.
He said the gap between those two points was a measure of their work that was why they introduced the Annual HSPRP some two years ago to serve as a tool to assist them in gauging their progress as well as identifying their weaknesses and challenges.
He said through the HSPRP, they were now better placed to make more informed public health decision because such decisions would be evidenced-based and data driven.
He said that was the second Annual HSPRP the Ministry was producing under his regime, and that the report was significant because it contains the report of the first full year of implementation of the post Ebola health sector reconstruction activities.
He further stated that the report captures most of the World Health Organization’s core indicators.
“The mandate of the health sector is to contribute to the goal of improving the quality of life for all Sierra Leoneans by reducing the risk of ill-health, and the occurrence of premature death, thereby, contributing to the social and economic development of the country. I am therefore, pleased to report that, overall, compared with previous reports, there has been marked improvement in the 2016 report,” he said.
Dr.Fofanah noted that he was profoundly pleased to witness the progressive and well documented achievements accomplished in the health sector, and that services have been expanded in terms of not only quantity but also quality.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sarian Kamara, said the report provided them with the opportunity to take stock of the performance of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation for the year 2016.
She said the country’s health system, like others around the world, has multiple national challenges ranging from economic crises to environmental disaster.
She said the rolling of health sector performance has incredibly helped the ministry to do effective service delivery.
While he congratulated the Ministry for a job well-done in the health sector, Alexander Chimbaru, Officer in Charge of the World Health Programme in Sierra Leone, said Sierra Leone had won an award for the controlling of minor diseases.
Dr. Amit Buandari, Senior Head Adviser at DIFiD also congratulated the ministry for the progress made in the health sector and called on them to continue building a better health delivery service in the country.
He called on the ministry to address the human resource gap that it has been faced with over the years to ensure better health service delivery.
Presenting the 2016 annual HSPRS, Alhassan Fouard Kanu, stated that the overarching aim of the Health Sector Performance Report was on the performance and progress of the sector.
He said the specific objectives describeb key quantitative indicators of health sector and provides an analysis of the trend in performance of Sierra Leone.
He said the chart describes key quantitative indicators of health system pillars and priority health thematic areas and provides an analysis of the trend in performance at the district level.