The World Bank Country Director for Sierra Leone, Ghana and Liberia, Pierre Frank Laporte, has paid a courtesy call on His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio and pledged the Bank’s support for the country’s Health Insurance Scheme.
In July last year, President Bio launched the first-ever Group Life Insurance Scheme for frontline health workers who were engaged in the fight against the deadly COVID-19, noting at the time that the window of opportunity opened by his government reflected a commitment to building a highly skilled human resource base in Sierra Leone.
Mr. Laporte thanked the Government of Sierra Leone for their support to the Bank’s programmes in the country, while praising the good working relationship the bank continued to enjoy with the Ministry of Finance. He added that the country had taken rapid steps in curtailing the Coronavirus, which he said had ravaged many economies of the world.
He further stated that he was happy that the country had embraced the Covid-19 vaccination and disclosed that they would think of more support to the country’s efforts at curtailing the Coronavirus, improving the educational sector and investing more in energy.
“We are very happy for the development, so far. We will do everything to get things done,” he noted.
In a brief remark, President Bio thanked Mr. Laporte and his team for their visit and for the quality friendship that existed between his government and the World Bank, saying that the budgetary and technical support from the Bank had helped greatly to navigate some of the difficult areas of governance.
“Your contributions have been immense. We, therefore, consider you as a close partner. My government is committed to keeping the relationship together and stronger. We look forward to more support from the Bank,” he noted.
The President also noted that despite the many challenges posed by the pandemic, his government had done a lot to support the vulnerable, adding that he would continue to do his bit in the fight against COVID-19.
