Official launch of the Universal Health & Preparedness Review statement by Mr. Babatunde Ahonsi

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, 

On behalf of the UN Country Team and development partners in Sierra Leone, I welcome the Universal Health and Preparedness Review (UHPR) pilot. This is because Sierra Leone like all other countries needs to strengthen health emergency preparedness and response at all levels and to build resilience through stronger primary health care, as the foundation of both health security and universal health coverage. UHPR is a welcome step that will go some way in positioning Sierra Leone to be the first country within ECOWAS to be prepared.

The UHPR remains a game changer given its recognition of the complexity and the critical complementary roles of diverse public health interventions of different UN entities in contributing to emergency preparedness and response activities.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that no single institution or government can handle an outbreak of such magnitude. UHPR provides a State-to-State peer review platform to assess the whole-of-government and the whole-of-society efforts and preparedness for the next pandemic. We have learned, among others, that we succeed better when we work together.

With increased accountability and solidarity for emergency preparedness and UHC that UHPR promotes, it is our hope that the UHPR will provide that opportunity to unlock resources that can be used to address the basic health needs of Sierra Leone and translate to improved health indices.

If there is one lesson that we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that health and sustainable development are two sides of the same coin. International development partners, including the UN family, will therefore continue to complement and support the government’s investment in health programs. We strongly believe that further multi-sectoral efforts will positively impact the well-being of all Sierra Leoneans.

Thank you.