Dr Alpha Wurie Set For Radical Transformation In The Health Sector
In an innovative drive to transform the health sector for quality service delivery , the Newly appointed Minister of Health and Sanitation Dr. Alpha Tejan Wurie has unfolded his plans to senior staff of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation during his maiden meeting with his staff at the Ministry Head Quarters in Freetown on Monday, 7th May,2018. Photo: New Health Minister meets with staff
From all indications the Minister actually laid emphasis on inclusive development and bridging gaps between the Peripheral Health Units and the Head Quarters.
This is an accepted and modern development paradigm in which you use bottom up approach to motivate most vulnerable communities towards development.
The Minister observed that there had been disconnect between the Ministry and the PHUs but promised to bridge those gaps between six to two years of his tenure through a productive team work approach and maximum support to rural urban health sector .
On the issue of strengthening the sector he indicated that much is needed to fix rural and urban health facilities especially in the area of infrastructures, portable water supply, energy, human resources, nutrition, drugs and modern laboratory for diagnostic purposes.
The above cannot be achieved in isolation; it has to be a collaborative effort inclusive of all the line ministries, Departments and Agencies.
It has been said that for any nation to develop economically, its work force has to be healthy to be actively involved in national productivity. This actually put the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in the driving seat to stimulate national economic growth if given the fullest support.
For the new Minister to execute his plans well there must be a collaboration among the line Ministries, so that when the lead Ministry of Health and Sanitation provides Health structure with all the paraphernalia, the other Ministries of Water Resource and Energy will provide potable water and electricity supply respectively.
From that brief interaction with his staff the Minister showed strong leadership and determination to work with every competent personnel irrespective of tribe, party, colour, region and background.
He even extended invitation to other health professionals who are no longer in the system but but have something to offer to the people of Sierra Leone to come onboard.
He suggested that there is need for the three professional heads of the Ministry that is the Chief Medical Officer and his two deputies to work hand in glove under the Executive Management Committee for effective service delivery and each of them providing direct supervisory roles to key programmes within the Ministry.
Welcoming the new Minister of Health to his Ministry, the Permanent Secretary David Banya maintained that Dr. Wurie is an accomplished academic, a fulfilled politician and entrepreneur in the private sector who has served in strategic areas of human endeavor.
He explained that the Ministry consists of professional structure headed by the Chief Medical Officer and the Administrative structure headed by the Permanent Secretary backed by Directorates and Programmes .
He went on to inform the Minister about high demand placed on his Ministry from the public stating that the Ministry has achieved quite a few milestones and require to do more with determined and dedicated staff.
He pointed out that his Ministry consists of 50% of the Civil Service work force with a large number of them as volunteers awaiting recruitment into the main stream. He also briefed the Minister of funding constraints.
Congratulating the new Minister of Health, the Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brima Kargbo stressed the relevance of primary and secondary healthcare in boosting the quality health service delivery in the country.
By Solomon Rogers PRO MoHS
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