The Sierra Leone Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr. Austin Demby, says the country is strongly committed to Universal Health Coverage (UHC), especially Primary Healthcare (PHC), which he described as a vehicle for achieving UHC.
He was speaking at the high-level roundtable discussion meeting in Geneva, where he was serving as co-host of the Partnership for Maternal, New-born, and Child Health (PMNCH). A multi-constituency partnership event hosted by the World Health Organization, chaired by Graça Machel.
Minister Demby says the government has established an extensive network of PHC facilities, with more community health workers nationwide. He told the global health experts that 85 percent of Sierra Leoneans (approximately six million people) have access to a primary healthcare unit situated within a 5 kilometre radius.
Demby associates the country’s achievement with the introduction of the Free Health Care Initiative by the previous government, which he believes contributed to an increase in maternal and child health service coverage over the past years.
The Minister of Health informed the multi-constituency partnership high-level 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) meeting in Switzerland that "with improved access to services, the country has reduced under-five mortality by 58 percent in the past 30 years (1990 to 2020).
Despite gains, the minister revealed that under-five, infant and neonatal mortality rates in the country are still among the highest globally. He said Sierra Leone is one of the 54 countries that need to accelerate progress to achieve the SDG-3 target for under-five mortality by 2030.
He confirmed that 70 percent of under-five deaths in the country occur in children aged 1–59 months, an age group in which other countries have seen significant mortality reductions.
The minister highlighted good progress made by the government on improving nutritional status through better new-born and infant feeding practices, despite significant food insecurity.
He said, "The main causes of under-five mortality and morbidity are either preventable or treatable using existing evidence-based, cost-effective, and high-impact interventions that can be delivered through the primary health care and community health service delivery platforms."
The Minister, however, was assured as he reiterated the country’s commitment to promoting the protection of children and women in achieving Universal Health Coverage.
Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr. Austin Demby
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