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The ultramodern Maternal Centre Hospital in Koidu is presently undergoing rapid construction as contractors work to finish the first ward by next year.
Kono, before now, recorded one of the highest rates of maternal deaths in Sierra Leone with one in every 17 maternal cases resulting in fatality.
“Kono was the epicentre of the world’s maternal mortality crisis with one in 17 women dying in childbirth or pregnancy,” said John Michael Green, American author, and Youtuber.
But with help from Partners in Health (PIH) and online donors, the diamond rich district located in Eastern Sierra Leone is set to benefit from 48,000 square feet hospital cost of over 30 million US Dollars.
Although the modern hospital will be readied by next year, PIH, donors and the Sierra Leonean Government have been working to improve the existing maternal ward in the hospital.
According to Green, eight years ago, the maternity ward in the government hospital in Kono district was one of the most neglected in the country lacking the most basic of equipment needed for care of women and lactating mothers.
“(The ward had) dirt floors due to a long history of impoverishment, horrific civil war and the collapse of the already fragile health system during the Ebola epidemic,” he said.
Also remarkable in the construction project is the incredible workforce rendered by women with over 60 percent being females.
Although women in the district die almost everyday from maternal cases, the opening of the hospital is believed to be a prudent step to halt the malaise.
