Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) is presently distributing bags of rice to different hospitals in the country to help inpatients with feeding during the rainy season, starting on Wednesday 11 August 2021 with those at the Connaught Hospital in Freetown.
With a donation from the Government of the Republic of India, the Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr. Austin Demby, handed over a total of 348 bags of rice (50-kilogram), a consignment that is expected to last for a calendar year.
He said the rainy season was always a challenging time for Sierra Leoneans but expressed hope that the food supplies would help inpatients with feeding for one year.
Dr. Demby further stated that for health facilities in hard-to-reach areas in the provinces, where there would be no inpatient, the health care workers would be benefiting from their share of the rice as a form of incentive.
“The Ministry is going to ensure that these bags of rice reach the target beneficiaries,” he assured and thanked the people and Government of the Republic of India for the kind gesture.
According to the Director of the National Medical Supplies Agency, Dr. Lawrence Sandi, after the food supplies were given to Sierra Leone, the cabinet met and agreed that every health facility should benefit from the donation.
He said his agency would be responsible for the distribution of the items across the country, noting that the process, which had already started with Connaught Hospital, would ensure that the rice got every intended beneficiary health facility in the country.
He said they had done the calculation with regards to the amount of rice that was being consumed in every facility every month, noting that because Connaught was consuming 23 bags of rice every month, they had supplied a total of 348 bags for the year.