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Tony Blair's return to Sierra Leone focuses on healthcare delivery programme

Tony Blair today returned to Sierra Leone this week to review the progress of the Africa Governance Initiative project with President Koroma, with a specific focus on healthcare and the work the Government of Sierra Leone is doing to prepare for the delivery of free healthcare for pregnant women and children under five.

During the trip – Tony Blair's third visit to Freetown since launching his Africa Governance Initiative project with President Ernest Bai Koroma in 2008 – he took time out to visit Rokupa Government Hospital to see firsthand the opportunities and challenges that the free healthcare imitative will pose.

Speaking at the hospital, Tony Blair, Founder and Patron of the Africa Governance Initiative, said:

“Rokupa hospital has already started to provide free treatment for pregnant mothers and children under five. If that happens across the whole country, as President Koroma’s government has said it wants to, it will have a massive impact. They have shown here by doing this, they can save lives - it’s as simple as that. My team on the ground is supporting the government deliver their priority of rolling this out across the whole country.

“The Ministry of Health have a plan to deliver the staff and the drugs needed to make this happen. We need to take the lessons of Rokupa and roll it out across the whole country. We need to get the organisation in place to make that happen and I know the government is determined to make it work.”
Despite recent improvements, Sierra Leone still has some of the worst maternal and infant mortality rates in the world. 1 in 7 children die before the age of 5, often from easily preventable conditions, which is why the Government of Sierra Leone is committed to increasing access to medical care for pregnant women and children.

In November 2009 the Government of Sierra Leone announced that from April 27th 2010 (Independence Day in Sierra Leone) it was going to abolish user fees for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five. The Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative is working with the Government of Sierra Leone and its donor partners on the preparations for April 27th. In particular, it is helping senior officials in the Ministry of Health develop the processes and tools they need to plan and manage the implementation of this ambitious policy.

Tony Blair has chosen to visit Rokupa as in May 2009 the hospital has abolished user fees for services to pregnant women and children under 5 years. This has had a dramatic impact, increasing the number of babies delivered in the hospital from 50 per year to around 50 per month. This demonstrates the potential impact of this policy going live nationwide.

Tony Blair was welcomed to the Hospital by met by Chief Medical Officer Dr Kisito Daoh, Director of Reproductive and Child Health Dr SAS Kargbo, and Dr Smith the District Medical Officer for the Western Area.

Prior to visiting the hospital, Tony Blair held discussions on the free health care initiative with Vice President Samuel Sam-Sumana, who is currently supervising the Ministry of Health, and will meet the Chief Medical Officer Dr Kristo Daoh and other senior officials who are leading the preparations.