Healey International Relief Foundation

The National Health Organization was a viable, workable medical system that was extremely productive in combating all diseases throughout the entire Country of Sierra Leone, Africa from 1976 until 1992. Until 1991, when the Civil War started in Sierra Leone, the Country had the highest literacy rate of all of Africa and one of the lowest infant mortality rates throughout the world. The median age was approaching 60 for women and 57 for men. Unemployment was next to naught and the medical system, under the auspices of the National Health Organization, made sure that all corners of Sierra Leone were medically covered. The former NHO was completely endorsed by the Government of Sierra Leone and cooperation was never an issue.

The premise for the National Health Organization was simple. The Country was already divided into four Catholic Dioceses (now five since the recent establishment of the Diocese of Bo). It was agreed that each Diocese would have a medical warehouse and within each Diocese there were a number of medical clinics in cities, rural areas and in the bush country. The headquarters was in the Capitol City of Freetown. Here, headquarters housed the records and all of the pertinent medical information for the entire Country. Additionally, headquarters would collect numerous donations of medical equipment, prescription medicines and other necessary pharmaceuticals. Headquarters offered medical personnel, nurses, trained mid-wives and provided medical vehicles. Medical personnel would work on a rotational basis from Diocese to Diocese and clinic to clinic. Having one major headquarter in Freetown securing the funding and donations, allowed for ease of operation and therefore, functioned for the betterment of all.

The Civil War broke out in 1991 and ended in 2002, but lasting peace was not established until 2004 when the UN Peacekeeping Forces left Sierra Leone. During the 11 year Civil War the rebels destroyed virtually every clinic and hospital and raided and looted the warehouses. Needless, to say the destruction of the NHO and the medical infrastructure has had devastating affects throughout Sierra Leone and has left a country’s health exposed and in ruins.

The Healey International Relief Foundation, working closely with the Catholic bishops and Archbishop, representatives of other Faiths, and in cooperation with the present Government in Sierra Leone has undertaken the task of rebuilding and raising the National Health Organization to its past status but with the major advances in technology. The Healey International Relief Foundation and partnering aspects of Sierra Leone have undertaken extensive studies of population trends before and after the Civil War, the status of the structures of the former clinics, the various new diseases that are present due to the destruction done during the Civil War, the financial status of the population in the various sectors of Sierra Leone and the varied medical needs of the different segments of the Country. The Project will start with the main warehouse in Freetown and the four warehouses in the other Dioceses and then expand to the clinics throughout the Country.

Present Medical Facts this Project will Target:

1. Sierra Leone presently has the highest infant mortality rate of the entire World, surpassing Bangladesh in 2005. Five out of ten children die at childbirth.
2. Four of ten mothers die giving birth due to untrained mid-wives and unsanitary conditions.
3. The median income level has been reduced to less than $200 per year which makes medical care unaffordable to the average person in Sierra Leone.
4. Malaria nets and malaria vaccinations are next to naught in Sierra Leone and therefore deaths from malaria have risen to unbelievable heights.
5. In 2007 the United Nations named Sierra Leone the “Worse Country in the World”.
6. The median age, due to the ramifications of the Civil War has been drastically reduced to 48 for women and 40 for men. The prime cause for this is the lack of medical attention and medical prevention.
7. People are dying from dental and mouth diseases simply because they cannot afford simple tooth brushes and tooth paste.
8. Hearing aids and eye glasses are a major need but out of reach financially to 96% of the children and adults.
9. Simple steps such as diarrhea medicine, hand sanitizers, educational materials concerning nutrition and tooth care would vastly improve the quality of life and expand the median age.