Rome, Italy, Monday 24 July 2023 – His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has held a constructive bilateral meeting with the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on the margins of the United Nations Food System Stocktaking Moment in Rome, Italy.
After the meeting the UN chief, who envisions a world in which everyone can live healthy, productive lives, regardless of who they are or where they live, tweeted and praised President Bio’s investment in healthcare delivery and noted specific improvements in Sierra Leone’s health indicators in recent years.
“I am honoured to meet my brother, President Bio at the UNFSS2023. I thanked him for Sierra Leone’s investment in emergency preparedness, including via the WHO Universal Health Preparedness Review.
“We discussed the establishment of a national public health agency and how we can support, as well as Sierra Leone’s efforts to expand immunisation, eliminate cervical cancer and reduce maternal mortality. Together!” the WHO boss tweeted.
In response, President Bio retweeted, stating that it was indeed a fruitful deliberation with his brother, Dr Tedros.
“Thank you for your continued support, partnership and abiding faith in my Government’s commitment to improving healthcare service delivery in Sierra Leone. My Government will continue to expand investments in the health sector and work with you and the WHO towards promoting SDG3 and other health priorities in Sierra Leone.
“We remain committed to supporting collective actions that will make the world safer, based on the principles of equal treatment and mutual accountability,” he said.
It could be recalled that the West African nation, under President Bio’s first term between 2018 and 2023, recorded some of the biggest successes and achievements in improving healthcare delivery for its citizens.
In May this year the Executive Director of WHO, who doubles as head of health emergencies programmes, Dr Michael Ryan, praised Sierra Leone’s efforts at officially launching the Universal Health Preparedness Review.
In April the new Country Representative for WHO, Dr. Innocent Nuwagira, met President Bio at State House to congratulate the government on becoming the biggest success story in the maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births in Africa.
A month earlier, in March 2023, the integrated African health observatory report revealed that “Sierra Leone was among the top three countries in the African Region with high maternal mortality rates in 2017 with 1,120 deaths per 100 000 live births. In 2020, the maternal mortality rate dropped by nearly 60% (443 deaths per 100 000 live births)”.
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