Free Healthcare for People With Disabilities – a Plea to President Ernest Bai Koroma

Concord Times (Freetown)

Ajan Fofanah

30 May 2011

Freetown — I hope this article would make an interesting reading and appeal to all Sierra Leoneans, at home and in the Diaspora, irrespective of their academic propensity and respective disciplines.

I am also very optimistic that agencies that seek the normalisation of people with disabilities would buttress my plea to His Excellency president Koroma.

There is an old adage, which says that ‘health is wealth’. Literally, this does not mean that the wealthy are healthier than people who are poor, but it symbolises to mankind the benefit of being healthy.

Health is wealth because it is a resource for living a happier and productive life. It is an incontestable fact that the wealthy would make better use of their resources when they are healthy and tend to enjoy a better quality of life.

Likewise, people who may be described as being poor would manage, against all odds, to better cope with their poverty, especially when they subjectively perceive their health as being good.

A healthy nation does not only signify improved public health, but would also create happier and stronger communities, which will contribute to the economic development of the entire nation.

The introduction of the ‘new’ free medical care for pregnant women, mothers and children under the ages of five would definitely be described as a gleaming step towards improving the health of people in Sierra Leone.

Free healthcare for pregnant women, mothers and children in Sierra Leone? This is too good to be true! What we all need to do now is to eulogise and sincerely thank the president for his patriotic venture, and concertedly work with all relevant officials and stakeholders to enhance the good will of the government, on one hand, and the health status of the country, on the other hand.

Again, the recently created ‘new’ Primary Health Care commission also shows that the government cares about the interest and well being of its citizens, especially those that are worse off.

In fact, it is for this prominent reason that the president, Dr, Ernest Bai Koroma, is not only highly applauded, but has also won the hearts and minds of many Sierra Leoneans at home and in the Diaspora, as well as the international community.

His Excellency, while we are all receptive to government’s initiatives to improving public health in Sierra Leone, I ask you most kindly to start thinking about the plight of people with disabilities. People with disabilities are not at all disabled, they are only suffering from disabilities, and their lives could, with no aorta of doubt, be improved if they are also provided with free access to medical care.

In my expert opinion, a disability can be worse than an illness, because some illnesses only affect children, or adults or the elderly population, but disabilities affect people from the western area, the provincial regions, of all ages, gender, religion, tribes and all and sundry.

The quality of life lost as result of a disability far outweighs that of the sick. People with disabilities would find it almost impossible to access healthcare because they are either, by diagnosis, physically or mentally compromised. They are also not in gainful employment, which makes it impossible for them to afford proper medical attention. Indeed, this makes disability an issue of great apprehension and significance, and deserves the bi-partisan cooperation of all political parties in Sierra Leone.

Without free health care for people with disabilities, they are very likely to continue to suffer from their daily deplorable experiences, which will further worsen their quality of life and reduce their life expectancy.

The issue of disability in Sierra Leone is very poignant, because there has never been a national health service that cares about the health and social care needs of people with disabilities. This situation is not only peculiar of Sierra Leone as a country, but also of many other developing countries, if not all, but most.

Undoubtedly, the past brutal civil war has also negatively contributed to the burden of disability in the country, as we have all seen or experienced many disabilities, as a result of the war.

For God’s sake! How would an amputee, for example, be able to pay his/her healthcare bills, when he or she is not even fit for work? Indeed, this is a very emotive issue, which needs to be critically examined, with a view for all of us to contribute to improving the lives of this client group within our population, who are not only poor to pay for healthcare services, but are also marginalised and socially excluded.

I know some critics would try to discount my plea, by questioning where the money for such healthcare provision would come from, especially as the cost of the present free medical care for pregnant women, mothers and children amounts to millions of dollars, which is presently heavily subsidised by foreign donors. To these critics, my answer will be – there are fewer people with disabilities, compared to those that are presently getting free medical care. In effect, the economic cost of providing free access to health care for people with disabilities is far lesser than money reportedly misappropriated in other less essential areas. Mr. President, the benefit of free medical care to people with disabilities is insurmountable.

His Excellency Sir, in view of these note-worthy compounding factors, I most respectfully implore you to introduce free medical care for people with disabilities, during the present tenure of parliament, or to make it a priority for succeeding governments.

Please kind-heartedly note that, we shape our lives not only by the things that we carry with us, but also by those that we live behind us. Leaving behind what could hardly be thought of – ‘free medical care for people with disabilities’, would not only improve your leadership rating to all Sierra Leoneans and the international community, but will also grant you the accolade as the most distinguished president of our beloved ‘Mama Salone’.

Author:

Ajan Fofanah is based in the UK, and works for the British National Health Service. He specialises in Public Health, and Programmme & Project Management. He is also a patron of the Messeh Partnership Trust (MPT) in Sierra Leone.

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