This is the sixth in a series of interviews with participants at the Ministerial Leadership Initiative for Global Health’s Learning Collaborative Forum in Addis Ababa on motivation – what motivates them and how do they motivate others. This came from a conversation with two senior leaders at the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation: Amara Koroma, 49, director of financial services, and Dr. Samuel A.S. Kargbo, 48, director of reproductive health.
Q: What motivates you to do this work?
Amara Koroma: I will simply give you my story. I came from a very humble background. Things were very difficult, very, very difficult, especially because I had lost my mother early in life. I saw poverty all around me. I have always looked at my background and always hoped to God one day if I make it, I should be in position to help others. That has influenced me greatly. In my environment, secondly, living very close to the ghetto, and I said to myself, I need to break the cycle of poverty in my family. If I can break it, I believe others can.
In Sierra Leone, MLI is helping the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) to increase its capacity to account for and report on all government and donor health expenditures and to build a financial management system capable of efficiently generating the information required for decision-making. In addition, MLI is helping the Ministry to harmonize development assistance, moving toward a Sector-wide Approach, an IHP+ Country Compact, and potentially a pool funding arrangement.
Zainab Bangura was appointed Minister of Health in December, 2010. She served previously as foreign minister.
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