By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
President Julius Maada Bio has announced plans to expand diagnostic testing across all government hospitals in the country. He said the decision is important in efforts to strengthen the country’s capacity to respond to infectious diseases, now and in the future.
Bio made the announcement in the southern regional capital of Bo on Thursday, where he presided over the inauguration of two treatment centers. He also distributed uniforms and medical equipment to hospitals in the Bo district.
“I am … pleased to announce that my Government will be expanding access to diagnostic testing at all regional and district hospitals and eventually to all PHUs [Primary Health Units] by providing laboratory equipment,” President Bio said, adding: “diagnostic testing is central to disease surveillance and it could be the basis for reliable data on disease prevalence or disease burdens in specific geographical locations.”
Most government hospitals in the country are barely equipped to diagnose diseases and this has had an adverse effect on the health of the population. In the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, most governments have been forced to further strengthen their national health care systems.
Equipping public hospitals in Sierra Leone with laboratories will mean training for diagnostic medical staff for which Bio said they would be trained to maximize their efficiency.
In announcing the initiative, President urged the Ministry of Health and the Directorate of Science Technology and Innovation to collaborate on developing a proper management system using technology.
“I also call on the Ministry and policy makers to develop a more integrated diagnostic system that makes innovative use of telephone based applications for ordering tests, transmitting results, archiving data, and retrieving data. Those applications or platforms can be developed in collaboration with the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation,” Bio said in his address.
In Bo, where the President made the announcement, there is no laboratory to do test for infectious diseases. All districts in the southern region send their samples to either Kenema, where there is an existing lab with expertise to handle infectious diseases or the capital Freetown, which also has sophisticated facilities to do such testing.
The Bio administration has set aside 11% of its budget to be spent on health this year.
In terms of investment in the sector, the government has increased its spending on the National Emergency Medical Services through which ambulances have been distributed across the country, to reduce constraints of mobility and access to health services.
“Emergency Medical Services (NEMS) is operational in all districts of the country with over 4,000 referrals to date. We have kept more Sierra Leoneans alive because of that singular decision to introduce a coordinated national ambulance service system. We have maintained the supply of essential drugs even through this pandemic. We have spared no expense in procuring life-saving equipment, including ventilators, to equip our COVID-19 treatment centers,” Bio said.
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