She also pointed out that teenage pregnancy accounts for high maternal mortality in the country because most of the victims are teenagers and therefore required collective and collaborative efforts to address it. She talked on education and incentives for nurses to motivate them deliver quality services.

The Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr. Alpha Tejan  Wurie  appreciated the bilateral relationship between the people of Sierra Leone  and  the people Republic of China  in  providing  infrastructural and    services  to the people of Sierra Leone.

He said the launching of the Sierra Leone – China maternal and child healthcare innovative programme came at a time when the rate of maternal and child health mortality in the country is alarming .

He said human resource in a very big problem confronting the ministry pointing out that, there is urgent need to address these challenges in order to strengthen the Health system.

He pleaded with China to provide more capacity building opportunities for our personnel   to improve on service delivery.

The Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Wu Peng spoke about the bilateral relationship that exits between Sierra Leone and China in the area of infrastructure and road network.

He disclosed that the Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital in China team is here to deliver voluntary health care services to the people of Sierra Leone, adding that they will provide free consultations for women and children and also conduct operations.

The Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brima Kargbo said Sierra Leone has one of the worst health indices in the world with a high maternal mortality ratio of 1, 165 deaths per 100,000 live births.

He told the gathering that under-fives mortality rate is 156 deaths per 1000 live births according to the Demographic Health Survey 2013, adding that the same report indicated that the infant mortality and neonatal mortality rate were as high as 92 and 39 per 100 live births.

Dr. Kargbo reiterated that the Ministry’s vision is to establish a functional national health system delivering efficient, high quality health care services that are accessible, equitable and affordable for every Sierra Leonean. He added that the mission is to contribute to the socio-economic development by promoting health and ensuring access to quality health care.

He stated that as Sierra Leone continues to recover, there is a renewed call for long-term, sustainable, and equitable progress towards achieving universal health coverage and improving health for all Sierra Leoneans.

Earlier, the Team leader, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital, China, Dr. Li Quanging gave a rundown of their intervention in the country.