President Koroma has reportedly shared the findings of a 3-month covert surveillance he undertook of some public hospitals in Freetown

President Koroma has reportedly shared the findings of a 3-month covert surveillance he undertook of some public hospitals in Freetown. Among others, he found that some health care personnel sell drugs meant for the ‘free health care’ initiative; patients are routinely mistreated by health care workers; and there’s a disturbing death rate at the hospitals. Some of the health care workers named in the report have already been suspended, while investigations continue. As depressing as they are, the findings shouldn’t surprise even the most causal observer of our public health system. Maybe the President should do this every week because when CSOs and journalists cover such stories, they are easily dismissed as detractors or opposition actors. Something is terribly wrong with the way Sierra Leone’s public officials perform their functions, and unless we admit it and work together to address it, our story won’t change significantly just yet.