The Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH) have benefited from a supply of medical equipment worth US$10,000 donated by Auradicals Foundation International, a new charity. A founding member of the foundation, Alhassan Kargbo told Journalists in Freetown that they got funds from individual contributions from members of the Auradicals in Sierra Leone and the Diaspora to support the fight against infant mortality which he said was high. Mr. Kargbo urged staff of the PCMH to utilize the equipment for their intended purposes. He added that the Auradicals Foundation International is also supporting the fight against Corruption in Sierra Leone, which he described as “a wicked problem which played a pivotal role in the country’s decade long civil conflict.”He said that was the reason the Auradicals Foundation conducted an essay competition that focused on the steps in combating corruption in Sierra Leone. Mr. Kargbo said about five students computed in this year’s Auradicals Foundation International Essay Competition. He said Bobson James Sesay of IPAM won the star prize of one million Leones, while Momoh Nyallay of the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS) grabbed the second prize with five hundred thousand Leones. Tamba Komba, graduate of Fourah Bay College seized the third position with three hundred thousand Leones.  

A visiting team of the Rotary Club of Nyon La Cote in Switzerland has handed over two separate cheques worth 142,200 United State dollars  to their colleague Rotarians in Sierra Leone. Handing over the cheques at a dinner at the Wusum Hotel in Makeni, the Head of the team, Candid Peyer said the money was a donation by the Rotary Club from Nyon La Cote together with donations from their local district and the Rotary Foundation in the USA.He said the first cheque of 77,200 USD was to cover the running costs of a project they had been financing since 2003 at the Magbenteh Community Hospital in Makeni. Mr Peyer said the donation was part of the numerous cases of assistance they had been rendering to Sierra Leone through the Swiss Sierra Leone Development Foundation.He said they were moved by President Koroma’s commitment in his recent speech that his Government would strive to make Sierra Leone the Switzerland of Africa.  

A medical team from the US-based organisation, Women for World Health is currently performing free plastic and reconstructive surgeries at the Holy Spirit Hospital in Makeni.   The leader of the team Dr. Amy Wandel, a plastic surgeon,said they were in Sierra Leone for a week to offer free surgery to people with cleft lips, bone contracture and lumps on their bodies.She said people with such conditions often face discrimination, as they were often regarded as being part of a family curse.Dr.Wandel said their organisation was working to as she put it,   rejoin such people with others in their respective communities.Patients who have already undergone the surgery described it as successful.  

President Ernest Bai Koroma launched the National AIDS Strategic Plan for the next five years on the observance of the World Aids Day on Wednesday.