While the Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, was commemorating the Universal Health Care Day on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, at the Miatta Conference Hall at Youyi Building Brookfields, he used the opportunity to send a strong message to Sierra Leoneans both at home and abroad that the Census is not politics.
Delivering his keynote statement, he said, “Census is not politics, but simply development,” he said while delivering his keynote statement. The VP highlighted the importance of the census, arguing that “the census is data collection to enable government, local institutions, NGO’s and development partners to plan their interventions and support”. He said that the distribution of development opportunities such as energy, water, health care centers, and workers depends on the demography of the respective localities.
“Get counted and have your share of nurses, clinics, medicines, tap water, and light”. The VP later recounted how wrong data was responsible for Sierra Leone to fail the MCC score on Child Immunization. We need to correct the date to get development planning right.
At the event, the VP catalogued the gains that have been made in the health sector and the continued commitment of the government to build a viable health system governance to deliver affordable health care delivery to citizens. He said that the government is keen to address the leadership and governance challenges in the health sector, including the human resource deficit. So far, the data points to the progressive efforts of the government, particularly in primary health care.
