USAID Mission Director visits USAID MOMEMTUM Program in Sierra Leone

Group photo of the Sierra Leone MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership consortium and the USAID mission team at the Waterloo health facility. October 2021. Photo Credit:  Abdul Sillah, Save the Children

 On Thursday 7^th October 2021, Save the Children hosted the USAID Mission Director, Kendra Schoenholz, USAID Representative Nancy Godfrey and Acting Health Office Director, Lisa Childs, on a tour of three health facilities supported by the Sierra Leone Momentum and Country Global Leadership Project.

Kendra Schoenholz serves as the Mission Director for the U.S. Agency for International Development Mission for Guinea and Sierra Leone - based in Conakry, Guinea. Her one day visit to Sierra Leone is to touch base with the MOMENTUM Team and experience some of the achievements made by the Sierra Leone team so far.

Save the Children Country Director, Heather Campbell, led the team on the visit to Waterloo Community Health Center, Stella Maris Health Clinic and Thompson Bay Maternal Newborn Child Health Post – three of the 53 health facilities the MOMENTUM project supports.

Kendra Schoenholz touring the Thompson Bay Community Health Clinic. October 2021. Photo Credit:  Abdul Sillah, Save the Children

At the three centres, the USAID team was shown around the facilities, witnessed quality Improvement in practice and given information on family planning services on offer to communities. They also met with a Mother support group whose role is to provide information and support to pregnant, lactating mothers to increase utilization of health services.

At Thompson Bay, Kendra Schoenholz, presented the community health center with IPC materials. The centre’sfacility management committee assured the delegation of their continued support to ensure the health Centre remains effective.

The MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership Sierra Leone Field project is building on the groundwork accomplished by the COVID-19 Response Project to support the Government of Sierra Leone to maintain the continuity of essential quality MNCH/FP/RH services at the national, district, facility, and community levels.

The project supports the Government of Sierra Leone and local partners to maintain the population’s access to and use of essential MNCH services and FP/RH care within the current context of COVID-19, and ensure the provision of safe WASH conditions and adherence to evidence-based hygiene behaviors within the current context of COVID-19.