The Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone has provided twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) to the Ministry of Health during the commemoration of the first anniversary of the Maiden Outreach Service of the Hospitals in Wheel commonly called the Mobile Health Clinic.

The event was held at the Ministry’s office 4th floor Youyi Building in Freetown and in attendance were the Chinese Ambassador, Deputy Minister of Health 2, other staff of the ministry, and doctors and nurses working in the Mobile Health Clinic.

In his statement, Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone Wang Qing starts by stating that the Mobile Medical Clinics are special gifts from the envoy of President Xi Jinping when he attended the inaugural ceremony of President Julius Maada Bio in 2018, adding that in 2022, President Bio officially launched the Hospitals on Wheels project based on these Mobile Clinics.

He ascertained that since the establishment of the Mobile Health Clinic with the strong leadership of the Ministry of Health, the hard work of the operation team and local health departments, and close collaboration between our two countries, the project has been truly built into the flagship project of the Ministry which vividly demonstrates how far they can go, and how much good they can do.

He said the Mobile Clinics have traveled to 13 districts in Sierra Leone, and have served more than 37,000 people, detected a lot of severe patients, and saved several patients’ lives, especially for vulnerable babies, pregnant women, elderly people who are in hard to reach quality health care.

“We are truly impressed by how the mobile clinics could be an innovative and efficient solution to health care accessibility problems when they are well integrated into the current health system. I think all these achievements deserve our cheers and plaudits”.

He continued that though the success stories of the Mobile Health Clinic are eminence, he is aware there are challenges disclosing that the Chinese Embassy is providing twenty thousand dollars as its continuous support to the project.

“Last year, we sponsored 100,000 US dollars to support the running of the project, today, I am proud to announce that we are providing another 20,000 US dollars to support the buses’ future tours”.

He promised the embassy continual offers of technical support and to try their best to expand the Mobile Clinics’ service to bring health to more people in need.

“Health and medical cooperation are always the highlight of China-Sierra Leone fruitful practical cooperation since the establishment of diplomatic ties 52 years ago”.

In her response to the Ambassador, Deputy Minister of Health 2 Dr. Jalikatu Mustapha said the Mobile Health Clinic project has demonstrated the ministry and Sierra Leone’s commitment to providing health facilities for the people.

She thanked the Ambassador for their continuous support to the health sector referring to the Ebola and COVID-19 outbreak and now the Mobile Health Clinic project.

She also appreciated the different health workers for their sacrifices and dedication in making sure the facility reached the intended beneficiaries.

Dr. Yeabu Kargbo, Medical Superintendent of the Mobile Health Clinic explained some of their success stories stating that over thirty-seven thousand Sierra Leoneans have received medical treatment from their team in the thirteen districts they have visited during the one year.

She stated that the facility has cared for people of all age categories as low as two-day-old baby and their beneficiaries have been giving them success stories.

She thanked the People’s Republic of China, the Ambassador, and her team members for their sacrifice in making sure they provide adequate medical facilities to hard-to-reach areas in the provinces.

The event was climixed with the presentation of the $20,000 cheque to the Deputy Minister of Health 2 and a four was made inside the mobile Health Clinics.