Freetown — The deputy minister of health and sanitation has assured journalists during his regular 'Meet the Press' session last week that his next target after the launch of the 'Mami En Welbodi Week' is to tirelessly work to change the past negative health ratings of Sierra Leone by 2011.

Mohamed D. Koroma pledged more commitment to working on reducing the infant mortality rate in the country, while also striving to improve the health condition of Sierra Leoneans generally. He said he was determined to make positive changes on both local and international assessments of Sierra Leone's health situation to ensure the country's ranking on the UNDP human development index improves to an appreciable level.

Koroma said the ministry of health and its partners, including WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNIDO, Helen Keller International, Save the Children, Rotary International, Amnesty International, Health for All Coalition, and the West Africa Health Organization (WAHO), among others, were all looking forward to a better rating of the country in the 2011 health report.

He said one of the strategies they have initiated was to undertake another nationwide tour to see the collaboration between health staff and the people with regards the implementation of the free health care plan. "Despite the ministry's introduction of a new policy - which is the free health care - monitoring the implementation of the programme will be key to its success. The free health care is targeting all pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children under the age of five years; and drugs are available in all government health facilities across the country," Koroma noted.

"We've realized that the success of this policy depends on the skills and care of our hardworking health professionals. By making this commitment, my ministry will ensure that health workers are well motivated so that the drugs would reach the target beneficiaries," he added.