By Communications Unit, Ministry of Technical and Higher Education

With a clear vision of reducing maternal and child mortality in Kono District and Sierra Laone in general,  Partners in Health  (PIH) has, in collaboration with the Ministries of Technical & Higher Education (MTHE)  and Health & Sanitation (MoHS) has turned the sod for the construction and operationalization of a Maternal Health Centre of Excellence (MCoE) in Kono district.

The event, which attracted a host of Government Officials, Members of Parliament, International and Local Stakeholders, was in a bid to enhance the expansion of Koidu Government Hospital with a state-of-the-art 166 bed women and children’s teaching hospital.

The project was jointly funded by Partners in Health (PIH) and Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) with an investment of $18.2 million and $6.8 million respectively.

Representing the Minister of Technical and Higher Education (Prof. Alpha Wurie), the Chief Technical and Higher Education Officer in the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, Josephus Brimah, expressed his heartfelt delight for such a laudable venture that will not only impact on the lives of the people of Kono but also of the people of Sierra Leone health-wise.

He noted that MTHE has had series of discussions regarding the need to have this proposed institution of excellence be recognised as a provider of requisite training in the medical profession, adding the Ministry’s readiness to work with other state institutions in achieving Sustainable Development Goals SDGs 3 and 4 which deal  with “good health & well-being and quality education” respectively.

According to Mr. Brimah, MTHE intends to include and recognise the proposed Centre of Excellence in the newly drafted University Bill 2021, with an expectation that the proposed institution will, in future, stand tall in Sierra Leone’s educational sector.