Sierra Leone Vice President Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh has on Tuesday 28 May 2024 met with the Vice President of Liberia Jeremiah Kpan Khoung to discuss bilateral issues bordering on development. Vice President Dr Jalloh underscored the importance of strengthening the bilateral relationship between the two countries, noting that Sierra Leone has a strong relationship with Liberia with the same history and people. He expressed delight in the visit of the Liberia Vice President to Sierra Leone, adding that the visit of Vice President Khoung means a lot to the country.
The Honourable Vice President stated that Sierra Leone has a long-standing security relationship with Liberia, furthering that Government wants to deepen and strengthen the security relationship between the two countries. He informed the Liberia Vice President about plans by the Government of Sierra Leone to make a presentation and proposal for future security and defence cooperation, citing the security and defence pact between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Guinean Government.
Vice President Jalloh enlightened Vice President Khoung about the reduction in maternal and infant mortality rate in the last few years by the Government of Sierra Leone, he added that Sierra Leone top the record in maternal and infant mortality reduction in sub-Sahara Africa.
Vice President Jalloh acknowledged the steps taken by the Liberian Government to revamp the Mano River Union (MRU), and thanked the Liberian Vice President on behalf of his government for revamping the Union. He believed that a functional MRU will add value to regional cooperation at the challenging moment in the sub-region.
Vice President Khoung said that he is happy to be in Sierra Leone and happy to learn from the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) programme, he lauded sun secretariat for the manner the institution managed to get to the level it is today, stressing that the SUN programme under the supervision of the Office of the Vice President has done extremely well. The Liberian Vice president informed Vice President Jalloh about his admiration for the Aberdeen beach with businesses and tourism, he hopes to share and replicate the Aberdeen beach experience on his return to Liberia with relevant authorities, for the construction of markets along Liberia beaches in other to improve on tourism in the country. He said that his delegation is on a learning visit to Sierra Leone and the delegation is willing to learn from the Sierra Leone experience. The Liberia Vice President made similar statement on his visit to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation at Youyi Building in Freetown on the same day.
Dr Jalikatu Mustapha, Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation II welcomed Vice President Khoung and delegation to her ministry. She informed the Liberia delegation about the 63% reduction in maternal mortality ratio: From seven hundred and seventeen to four hundred and forty-three per one hundred thousand live births at the moment. She explained that there are one thousand six hundred Peripheral Health Units (PHUs) across the country.
