Sierra Leone President Dr. Julius Maada Bio and his wife, First Lady Dr. Fatima Maada Bio were yesterday 15th December, 2022 received in the Oval Office at the White House by the United States President Joe Biden and his wife, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.
Following the historic meeting, President Julius Maada Bio stated on his Twitter Account: “Earlier today, I met with @POTUS @JoeBiden at the @WhiteHouse as part of the ongoing US-Africa Leaders’ Summit. We had a robust discussion on various topics, including strategies for enhancing the age-long relations between Sierra Leone and the United States of America.”
In a similar development, First Lady Dr. Fatima Maada Bio, on Wednesday December 14th 2022, made a solid case for Sierra Leone at the Cancer Moonshot seminar hosted by the First Lady of the United States of America Dr. Jill Biden.
Dr. Fatima Maada Bio told the gathering that Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world, especially in Africa, and must be treated as a public health emergency.
Dr. Fatima Maada Bio stated that majority of cancer patients in Sierra Leone seek medical attention when their illness is far advanced or at an incurable stage because of limited access to early diagnostic services. She further reiterated “President Bio’s commitment towards the fight against Cancer” and highlighted all what the Ministry of Health and Sanitation of Sierra Leone, in partnership with aid agencies, are doing to address the scourge.
First Lady Maada Bio spoke of how significant efforts are being made to break barriers and also stated that raising awareness has remained pivotal alongside the provision of vaccinations and early access to screening.
Dr. Fatima Maada Bio also updated the eminent gathering about the formulation of policies and the development of the first-ever National Policy on Cervical Cancer, a Strategic Plan and Clinical Guidelines for the management of Cervical Cancer.
First Lady Maada Bio also spoke about the refurbishment and equipping of Reproductive Health Centers across the country as a means of enhancing the chances of early-stage detection and subsequent treatment.
The Cancer Moonshot Initiative is President Biden’s initiative which is mainly aimed at accelerating treatment discovery, highlighting new goals to reduce the cancer death rate by half within 25 years and to improve the lives of people with cancer and cancer survivors.
