One of Sierra Leone’s finest female journalists and women’s and children’s rights advocate, Mamadi Ngobeh Kamara, on Thursday 30th May, 2019 successfully sailed through Parliament to become the new Deputy Minister of Information and Communication.
In the Well of Parliament, Members of Parliament approved Mamadi Ngobeh Kamara and other presidential nominees were approved by Parliament after they were appointed by President Julius Maada Bio to serve in various public capacities.
The nominees before their approval went through stiff scrutiny by the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment and the Public Service.
Presenting the nominees for approval, the Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Hon. Sidi Mohamed Tunis, said they relied on specific documents provided by the nominees, coupled with other information obtained from the general public, to conduct the hearings.
He assured the House that he has no doubt that the nominees would perform well in their respective capacities, adding that the nominees were all capable and that he has no doubt that they will serve the different parastatals they were approved to serve.
Mamadi Ngobeh Kamara is a prolific administrator who has worked in top positions as manager, director and other positions. She would no doubt bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the Ministry of Information and Communication and will no doubt be of exceptional assistance to her boss Mohamed Rado Swarray.
FIAN, an international human rights organization and Green Scenery on Thursday 30th of May 2019 launched a case report which documented serious of human rights violations and abuses by SOCFIN against the People of Sahn Malen Chiefdom.
The report which was launched at the SLAJ Conference Hall in Freetown attracted stakeholders and representatives from government, local and international NGOs and the media.
SOCFIN is a multinational company controlled by a Belgian businesses man Herbert Fabri and the French group Bollore, which has developed a business empire in many parts of Africa.
According to the report, since the arrival of the Agribusiness Company in 2011 as part of a large-scale investment in palm oil production in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone, social conflict has raged in the Sahn Malen Chiefdom.
The reports further stated that affected communities who have lost access to and control over their land and have been exposed to serious human rights violations and abuses since 2011. “Several issues emerged, spanning from the right to land, food, water and a healthy environment, to workers’ rights, women’s right, the rights of the elderly and right to education. Added to these are serious violations and abuses of civil and political rights, including the right to peaceful assembly and association, physical integrity and clear cases of criminalization of human rights defenders’’, said the report. It also points to other allegations of corruption, lack of transparency and non-implementation of corporate social responsibility promises by SOCFIN.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Mr. Edward Sam who is a founding member of the Human Rights Commission in Sierra Leone said that the report is timely and may further inform the on-going mediation efforts by the Office of the Vice President. “We are convinced that the current settlement of the Sahn Malen conflict would prove constructive in reaching a peaceful agreement between all parties’’
He underscored the fact that the state has the obligation to protect the human rights of all its citizens. “I hold the view and strongly too, that the human rights of the people of Sahn Malen in particular must be protected as provided by local and international laws’’, he affirmed.
Alphonsus Gbanie who represented Human Rights Defenders Network highlighted issues regarding police and military brutality in Sahn Malen. He said that Government wants to protect the company because of its development agenda.
Joseph Rahall, Executive Director of Green Scenery, noted that the report will guide the mediation process and government needs to have a re-look at the issue at Sahn Malen Chiefdom and further step-up to resolve it accordingly.
Meanwhile, FIAN International has advocated for the realization of the right to adequate food for more than 30 years. Its mission is to expose violations of people’s right to food wherever they may occur. It stands up against unjust and oppressive practices that prevent people from feeding themselves. The Belgian non-state actor has closely followed the Sahn Malen case since 2012.
Timothy Kabba, Director General of Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Directorate
Timothy Kabba, Director General of Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Directorate
Some major oil and gas companies are poised to make use of the massive investment opportunities provided by the Sierra Leone government. If managed well, the oil and gas sector will serve as a golden opportunity to transform the country’s economy, resulting in bettering the lives of citizens.
“Oil and gas is not a partisan enterprise, it is not about politics and not a mafia enterprise. It is a natural endowment that we should make good use of for the benefit of all,” said the Director General of Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Directorate, Timothy Kabba, adding that “our opportunities are unlimited, and we hope to have many companies to make use of the good opportunities provided in the oil and gas sector.”
Kabba said they want to ensure that the Petroleum Directorate is seen as a competent sector worth for investors’ money. “We have the capacity to ensure that our activities do not pose a threat to the environment,” he assured.
It could be recalled that in September 2018, shortly after his appointment as Director General of Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Directorate, Timothy Kabba announced a six-month period of Industry Consultation, the purpose of which was to solicit feedback from potential participants in the country’s Fourth Licensing Round.
Meetings have since been held with a broad spectrum of high-quality international oil and gas companies. The Directorate is appreciative of the time that companies have so far devoted to the consultation process, and its intention is to use the insights gained to bring the Fourth Licensing Round to a successful conclusion.
Thus, the general conclusions of the consultation exercise include companies increasingly recognizing the proven nature of Sierra Leone’s working hydrocarbon system. License Round Participants have considered a broad basis of prospectively, which spans a range of geographic locations, play types and water depths; this prospectively extends beyond the boundaries of the License Areas made available at the start of the Fourth Licensing Round.
A key conclusion drawn by the Directorate is that the conditions offered pursuant to the original tender process no longer provide the Government of Sierra Leone with a structure broad enough to explore the full range of investor interest that has been expressed.
The Directorate has noted that a portion of the interest lies in water depths in excess of 2, 500 meters, the boundary line between deep and ultra-deep waters. He said it is the view of the Directorate that the number of companies with financial and technical capability to operate safely in such-ultra-deep water areas is very limited; and potential investors acknowledge that their understanding of Sierra Leone’s prospectivity will benefit from working with the world-class inventory of seismic, gravity, magnetic and well data and studies that is owned by the government.
“Based on these conclusions, the government has decided to reopen the country’s Fourth Licensing Round with the following structure: fully open the Republic’s offshore waters for petroleum licensing; optimize a more flexible Block framework as the basis for licensing; launch a Direct Tender for license applications where 50% or more of the application area is in water depths in excess of 2, 500 meters; and launch an open tender for all other license applications,” Kabba told a news conference on Tuesday. He further revealed that following publication in the Sierra Leone Gazette, both Tender processes have been launched on Tuesday 21st May 2019.
The open Tender process will run for six months and the Direct Tender process for four months. The deadline for Open Tenders is 22nd November, 2019 and Direct Tender negotiations will close on 20th September 2019. It is, however, possible for Licenses to be awarded by Direct Tender prior to the closure date.
“To participate in either Direct or Open Tender, companies must prequalify for that process by fulfilling all financial, technical and health, safety and environment (HSE) related elements relevant to their respective applications. The open tender process, being focused on shallower water depths, will provide the opportunity for a broad range of companies to apply for offshore acreage,” the Director-General remarked.
Given the predominance of ultra-depth-water areas in the Direct Tender process, each applicant will be expected to evidence that they possess the financial and technical capability to safely operate in ultra-deep water.
At the launch of the Fourth Licensing Round, five License areas were defined and released for licensing. The industry consultation process has highlighted that this rigid approach has not provided the Directorate with the flexibility it requires.
To address this, and with the Republic’s offshore waters now fully open to licensing (excepting environmentally protected estuaries and a five-kilometer wide coastal fisheries zone), the Directorate has decided to utilize a predefined, reticular Block framework. This size of each block is 1, 360km2. Using this framework, applicants are invited to delineate their areas of interest be assembling multiple contiguous Blocks.
“The License application must cover an area which is equivalent to at least 3 blocks in size and may be made up of a combination of whole and partial Blocks. Overlapping License Applications will be reviewed with reference to their relative merits and against the criteria detailed on the published scorecard. Applicants are asked to propose a work program for the Initial Exploration Period following which they will have the option to enter an extension period. No minimum work program specifications have been set for the Initial Exploration Period. However, the Directorate expects companies to invest in studies, data and other activities that build toward the drilling of exploration wells.”
“Applications for both Direct and Open Tenders will be assessed against a publicly disclosed scoring system. Once accepted, an exclusive License Agreement will be signed and ratified by Parliament. The agreement then becomes valid and binding, and a summary of the License published in The Sierra Leone Gazette. The Petroleum Directorate looks forward to a successful conclusion to Sierra Leone’s Fourth Licensing Round,” Kabba said.
In a similar development, the Director-General of Petroleum Directorate, Timothy M. Kabba, led a four-man Petroleum Directorate team to the America Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) 2019 Annual Convention & Exhibition (ACE) held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas from 19-22 May 2019.
ACE 2019 brought together over 7,500 professionals from 72 countries, representing a broad spectrum of the geosciences community. Presenters shared innovations and best practices in the industry and exhibitors introduced state-of-the-art displays and next-gen products.
Mr. Kabba used the occasion to announce the re-opening of Sierra Leone’s Fourth Licensing Round for oil and gas exploration, following six months of wide-ranging consultations with multi-faceted actors in the industry, including major and independent oil companies.
Mr. Kabba informed the audience that the consultations had revealed that Fifth License Round participants are looking forward to a much broader range of prospectively than was offered in the Fourth Licensing Round.
Marian Pleasant Kargbo, Chief Executive Officer of Pleasant Children Foundation, a philanthropist, Women and Children Advocate a BA Honors graduate in Political Science and History, currently studying Law at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone and Haja Madam Marie Bob Kandeh, Secretary General of the Sierra Leone Market Women Association, Human rights Activist, Entrepreneur a member of the Women’s Forum, Advisory Board of the Anti-Corruption Commission and Campaign for Good Governance have been nominated among 54 women to receive the Advocacy for Women and Youth Empowerment Western Area Rural District 30 most Influential Women Award. The event is scheduled to take place on July 27, 2019 at the newly constructed Yamasokro Complex Hall, Waterloo.
Haja Madam Marie Bob Kandeh, Secretary General of the Sierra Leone Market Women Association
The platform will be used to celebrate the contributions rural women have made to peace and development as well as to discuss women issues within the Western Rural District and the nation as a whole.
Advocacy for Women and Youth Empowerment will produce banners portraying the faces of the recipients which will be placed in the four geographical zones of the district. (Koya, Waterloo, York and the Mountain Rural). Also, the organization will publish an awarding magazine which will detail profiles of the awardees and also the programs they have undertook to promote development in the district.
The magazine will later be placed in libraries across the country. There will be full media coverage during the entire program; fliers will also be made for the awardees and guests.
Pleasant Children Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization dealing with destitute kids in the Western Rural Area in Freetown has been providing humanitarian assistance not only to school going children in the rural community but also to vulnerable homes.
Marian Pleasant Kargbo at her age has already made a name for herself and she has become a role model in society who is very inspirational to young people. She is also one of the Coordinators of VIONet at Voluntary Service Overseas. Besides, she has represented the country internationally to advocate for women and children of this country
Marie Bob Kandeh has also etched a good reputation throughout her life, advocating for women, especially market women, where she has demonstrated good leadership also championing the cause of the girl child.
Sierra Leoneans deem these two nominees as individuals who deserve to win not only local but also international awards so to serve as motivation to others.
The national Coordinator of the Civil Rights Coalition Alphonso Manley has commended the government of President Bio, Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of the Freetown City Council, military and police personal, youth groups and community stakeholders for sustainable cleaning exercises since it was declared as a national and monthly exercise by an executive order by President Bio, but stated that more funds need to be allocated to councils nationwide and especially the FCC because they have a lot of work considering the growing population and the geographical settings of the capital, Freetown.
Alphonso made this statement while a team of Civil Rights Coalition staffs went out on Saturday 1st June 2019, to monitor the monthly cleaning exercise within the municipality of Freetown as one of few accredited Civil Society Organizations by FCC to monitor and access the exercise.
Manley stated that the declaration of this First Saturday Monthly Cleaning by President Bio has helped to change the negative narrative of Freetown being ranked among the filthiest city in West Africa. He commended the Mayor of Freetown for implementation of the Flooding Mitigation Plan and actions taken that will give a facelift in the capital for residents and investors.
“These are very good measures for us as a nation, and the cleaning process helps us to avoid water and air borne diseases which cause Malaria, Cholera and other diseases, it a step that also help us to avoid farther diseases and accidents like flooding, adding that when the drainages are clean we experience a free flow of water to the sea.
In highlighting some of the challenges Alphonso Manley stated that shortage of trucks to transport the rubbish to the dump site during the cleaning, jelly cracks, plastic materials and other rubbish deposited in the drainages, lack of proper toilet and wash facilities in some of the market areas also cause the drainages to fill with urine and other rubbish which pose health risks to the traders and household that don’t deposit their waste for the rest of the month until cleaning day.
He added that parent will just send their children to deposit their waste on the street without putting it inside a bag which makes it difficult to load in the trucks, and those who also are in search of metal scraps in the process will scatter the waste and even turn the ones that are in bags onto the streets after which they will just leave everything like that, adding that all these are some of the challenges they observed during the cleaning exercise.
Youth groups at Kissy Road also complained that they have requested the FCC to help them with working tools.
He said to address some of these challenges the Civil Rights Coalition is calling on the government and donor partners to help the councils with funds to procure cleaning tools and trucks that will be used for the intended purpose, more sensitization needing to be done in communities on the cleaning, with council and the Ministry of Health needing to bring back community health monitors like it used to be in the past.
He however stated that we should invest more in prevention than in curing and that the cleaning exercise is one of the ways we use to prevent health hazards.
JMB Women’s Wing raced with time as they rushed to reach Moyamba and Bonthe for their Ramadan Gifts to this part of the country.
From Moriba Town To Mokanji town then Tiama to Makondey finally Rutile all in Moyamba District the people benefitted from the generosity of these determined women who will stop at nothing in promoting their leader Julius Maada Bio’s vision.
In continuation of their service to humanity the women headed for Bonthe District the home town of His Excellency where on Friday 31st May, 2019, they donated to 20 more mosques from Tihun to Bawuya and finally Mattru Jong.
This act of charity is being championed by the First Lady, due to her religious belief that giving is synonymous to every true Muslim during the month of Ramadan. She believes that the Holy month of Ramadan is peculiar to Muslims more than any other month in the year, therefore must be treated with the utmost importance it deserves, stating that ‘Zakat’ is one of the five pillars of Islam.
In another development, and for the first time in history, a First Lady joined prisoners in prayers. Her Excellency Fatima Maada Bio, on Wed 30th May, 2019 showed she is the mother of the nation, as she visited Sierra Leone Correctional Centre to pray with the inmates.
It was open-air place of worship in the centre. She is passionate about every Sierra Leonean, and believes a person’s past does not have to dictate his or her future.
First Lady Bio and the JMBWW also restored hope to over 900 inmates at the Sierra Leone Correctional Centre through Ramadan feeding exercise. The food was prepared by them and they also served and interacted with the inmates.
Hon. Edward Soluku, the Minister of Internal Affairs also joined worshippers. He was on ground to serve the inmates and also ate with them. He said, there are already positive changes within the correctional system, and he is ready to do much more under the new direction development plan.
Speaking with a heart full of emotions, Madam Fatima Maada Bio thanked the inmates for accepting to dine with her and the JMBWW. She offered words of encouragement to them. She thanked the Prison governor for organizing the prayer session. The Prison Governor said it was an honor to have the First Lady at his centre, and he praised the “Action-man” Minister of Internal Affairs for his positive contribution to the Correctional service.
Speaking on behalf of the inmates, a representative extended their profound gratitude to the First Lady and the JMBWW, passionately stating that, the event was the first in the history of the correctional centre for a First Lady or government in power to have a one on one interaction with them.
The representative furthermore, said he was impressed with the positive improvement they have seen, but also expressed some of the constraints of the prison, ranging from inadequate toilet facilities and toiletries and the food they are being served.
He concluded by thanking the Madam Fatima for such a humble and selfless move, one that will linger in their hearts for a life time.
The National Petroleum Company of Sierra Leone is being extolled for being very particular and consistent in providing very high quality grades of petrol, diesel and kerosene.
This is one major reason why the National Petroleum (NP) Sierra Leone Limited is always held in very high esteem.
It is noted that in order to keep abreast with latest international technological trends, the National Petroleum Sierra Leone (NP-SL) recently introduced for its customers the opportunity to use Smart Cards to purchase petroleum and other goods; meaning that buyers could top-up their cards to the tune of any amount which they can then use intermittently to procure petroleum products. This has made it convenient for easy transactions to be made and many customers are very comfortable with this arrangement.
NP-SL has been highly commended for remarkable service delivery to its numerous customers both within and out of the country. Without any iota of doubt the company has been greatly contributing towards poverty reduction with regards putting money in the pockets of its employees.
With unique state-of-the-art filling stations that are providing timely services, the company has been rated as one of the most successful indigenous business entities that always ensures it lives up to expectation. .
Management of NP places premium on offering the best geared towards giving value for money.
As a matter of importance NP considers its customers of different categories to be paramount treating them with all the attention they deserve.
Indeed, this assertion has been unchallenged against the backdrop that the company has never faltered in its obligation.
It is a fact that human existence can be difficult in the absence of fuel which is why the relevance of NP cannot in any way be underrated.
One outstanding thing that the company is noted for its immense contribution in offering jobs to different class of people proving that it is not just the prerogative of Government to do such as the private sector too could play a vital role in that direction.
NP is widely known for facilitating safer and cleaner means of cooking. NP Gas Cooker are now household commodities which are affordable and readily available in all their outlets nationwide.
When we talk of an indigenous company that has put smiles on the faces of Sierra Leoneans and is making the people of this country very proud, the National Petroleum Company stands taller than the rest! For a company to move beyond the shores of this country and establish branches in Liberia, Guinea, Ivory Coast and The Gambia which are vibrantly operating is no mean feat. Indeed, NP has added another feather to its cap and is being copiously praised for such an accomplishment.
The company’s result-oriented managerial team will definitely and sustainably continue to put NP at the top.
NP-SL Ltd. is doing exceptionally well in all the countries it is operating and indeed there are prospects for further expansion.
It can therefore be justifiably stated that the National Petroleum Sierra Leone Limited is the country’s reliable fuel provider as it always ensures that its stockpile is always at an appreciable level.
Against this background NP is believed to be one of the strong back bones of Sierra Leone’s economy.
The Management of NP is well determined to continue to contribute to development and despite the challenges it is currently grappling with it is steadily make commendable strides that will benefit the majority.
On Thursday 30th May, 2019, Children and Youth Development initiative (CYDI), Child/Youth led organization that is established to empower young people through education, skills training etc. held its 1st school Educational Outreach program, which is aimed at empowering school pupils through education as they believe education is the best empowerment you can give to a child. During the Educational Outreach program, the organization donated Learning materials to pupils of Mortimer West Huntingdon Primary School Magbafti, Western Rural District. And also awarded 20 pupils with scholarship, as since the implementation of the Free Quality Education, this school has not benefitted from the Free Quality Education and some pupils have stopped going to school because their parents cannot afford to pay their school fees.
Speaking at the ceremony, CYDI’s Executive Director, Amb. Oseh John, disclosed that the organization was born out of the vision to empower young people across the country. The distribution of the school items is a stepping stone towards their vision as an organization. He added that their focus is to complement the free Quality education of the President and the government of Sierra Leone. He went further to say that their organization is self-sponsored.
He thanked members of the organisations for their financial and technical support to make the event a success, adding that this will not be the last time they will help these children, but will continue to give them their support as an organization.
He stated that they are planning to do more in other schools if they are blessed with funds, because at the moment they are students and are the only ones financing all the programs.
He called on well-meaning Sierra Leoneans to help in developing the organisations so that they will have the courage to do more.
Tamba Koroma, a senior teacher at Mortimer West Huntingdon Primary School, Magbafti, thanked CYDI for the gesture and said that they are very grateful for the school items provided and they will ensure that the pupils make good use of the items.
He added that the school is really going through constrains and since the implementation of the Free Quality Education the Mortimer West Huntingdon Primary School Magbafti have be left out which he said is a big challenge for them.
Alpha Daramy Kamara, Head Teacher of Mortimer West Huntingdon Primary School, Magbafti, thanked CYDI for their gesture, which he said is timely as some of these pupils come to school without some of these school items and called on other organizations to copy the footsteps of the CYDI. He also disclosed that the school has been left out from the Free Quality Education, which he said is a big challenge and called on the Ministry of Basic and Senior School Education to approve their school so as to qualify the school for the benefits of the free quality education. “As young as you guys are you have already become role models in society”, he said and encouraged his pupils to copy the examples of the young students who formed the organization.
One of the Parents, Mbalu Turay (a single mother), thanked CYDI and commended them for the donation as she can now breathe a sigh of relief and hoped for divine help to enable them to do more for their kids.
Presentation of the learning materials and songs of praise from the beneficiaries climaxed the ceremony.
On Friday 31st May, 2019, Don Bosco with support from Zainab Mackay, held a one day Self-Defence training for Victims of sexual violence in order to educate and empowered them on how to withstand sexual violence in their communities.
Speaking at the ceremony, Zainab Mackay, who supported Don Bosco Fambul, said she is a Sierra Leonean living in the United States and is so passionate about empowering young girls. She recognized that sexual violence is a national crisis, which the nation needs to fight against. “I cannot turn a blind eye to the reality about what is going on in the world, especially violence against women and girls”, she stressed.
She went further to say that during her visit to Sierra Leone to do a documentary, she discovered that lots of girls are suffering from sexual violence and thought it fit to organize such an event that will help to teach the victims basic skills on how to defend themselves in the event of sexual violence.
She called on citizens to join the fight to end sexual violence, as these children (victims) are the future leaders of the nation.
Mabinty kawa social worker at Don Bosco Fambul, disclosed that they have been working tremendously to ensure that they support children, especially girls across the country. She added that they are presently working with girls on the project ‘Girls Shelter’. This project is geared towards helping girls who have suffered from sexual violence and prostitution across the country. She went further to say that they have recorded 852 sexual violence cases, of which 450 are rape cases. This she maintained is not good for the image of our girls and the country as a whole and called on every individual to join the fight to end sexual violence against girls, adding that it is a big fight that must be fought together.
An early marriage and sexually abused victim thanked Don Bosco Fambul for their support. She said that since she came in contact with Don Bosco Fambul her life has never been the same. She further disclosed that she was sexually abused by two men at the age of 14 years. She further explained that she became pregnant, but lost the child after birth. She also explained that she was not going to school before, but now she is proud to say she is going to school and is happy because the perpetrators are in the male correctional Centre.
A self defense training and demonstration for Victims of sexual violence in order to educate and empowered them on how to withstand sexual violence in their communities was done by Nabieu Turay a martial art expert.
The Western Africa Regional Manager of the Global Fund, Nicolas Cantau, has held discussions with His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio at State House in Freetown.
The Fund is a 21st-century partnership organisation designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics. Founded in 2002, the Global Fund is a partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by the diseases. The organization raises and invests nearly US$4 billion a year to support programmes run by local experts in countries and communities most in need.
In his presentation, Mr Cantau said they were pleased with the achievements already made by the Government in the health sector, particularly in the fight against malaria. He said the mortality rate of malaria had been reduced by 50% in the last ten to fifteen years and observed that great progress was being made in dealing with tuberculosis and HIV.
He said the Global Fund had supported the health sector in the country through three different aspects – human resources on health, procurement and supply chain to ensure medicines reach the patients and on strengthening the availability and usage of data.
He said the Fund was created in order to fight the three most infectious killer diseases in the world – Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV.
“Every three years, we organise a conference where we call all the supporters, donors and the implementers to discuss the impact of the Global Fund globally and to raise some additional funding to continue the fight, because the United Nations has taken a decision and there is a plan to end these three epidemics by 2030.
“It is a possibility because we have the tools, medicines and strategies to overcome the three diseases. We need commitment, leadership and funding in order to achieve this goal. We have one of the conferences this year and we need your support to demonstrate and testify the importance of the partnership that the Government of Sierra Leone has with the Global Fund, which is to be strengthened and continued,” he said.
On his part, President Bio expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to the Fund for their support to Sierra Leone’s health sector, noting that many Sierra Leoneans had benefitted from the work of the Global Fund. He said with their support the country had kept in check some severe cases of HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, adding that under normal circumstances it would be extremely difficult to deal with by a country with very meagre resources.
“We know we have some responsibilities regarding the human resources and also working together to support the supply chain. We will do whatever that is necessary. For us, this is a big help and we want to make sure that it is effective on the ground and ensure that it goes down to help those that need it the most.
“This programme sits very well in our flagship programme of human capital development. We have made it our flagship programme because I believe that without good health, education and good nutrition, we cannot make progress in Africa. All of what we want to achieve would not be strengthened without a strong health system. So, the help Global Fund has provided is coming at a time we needed it most,” he said.
