VZCZCXRO2409
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHFN #0173 1321743
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121743Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY FREETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2625
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS FREETOWN 000173 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W (JHUNTER) 
 
E.O. 12958 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR SL
 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR PERRY AND FIRST LADY KOROMA DISCUSS HEALTH IN 
SIERRA LEONE 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Ambassador Perry visited Sierra Leone's First Lady 
at Mrs. Koroma's request on May 5 for a briefing on the First Lady's 
recent participation at the African First Ladies Health Summit in 
Los Angeles.  Mrs. Koroma was overjoyed by the conference, convened 
by African Synergy and U.S. Doctors for Africa, claiming it was 
useful and engaging through to the end.  The First Lady 
enthusiastically thanked Ambassador Perry for her role in getting 
Sierra Leone on the agenda at the conference, and was hopeful that 
her new connections in the U.S. would be able to help develop the 
health infrastructure of the country in the future. End Summary 
 
¶2. (U) On May 5, Ambassador Perry visited First Lady Sia Koroma at 
the Presidential Lodge to be briefed on the First Lady's recent 
appearance at the African First Ladies Health Summit in Los Angeles. 
 The star-struck Mrs. Koroma gushed while describing the celebrities 
surrounding the events, but also pragmatically highlighted some of 
the people and organizations her office hopes to follow-up with over 
the next few months.   She noted that they would soon be sending out 
concept papers to US Doctors for Africa and others, and that they 
plan to work with a Sierra Leonean-American contact within the 
Department of Health and Human Services to maneuver through the USG 
maze to identify other interested donors.  The First Lady also 
referred to a keen interest from Rick Warren and the Saddleback 
Church contingent who attended the Health Summit.  The Saddleback 
Church has already committed to donating forty new beds and some 
de-worming medications for the Matru Hospital in Southern Sierra 
Leone.  Ambassador Perry encouraged Mrs. Koroma to keep the embassy 
informed as she works to raise international awareness of the health 
situation in Sierra Leone in order to ensure the smooth facilitation 
of U.S.-based donations and/or programs. 
 
¶3. (U) In addition to making U.S. contacts, Mrs. Koroma was excited 
to hear other success stories from other First Ladies around the 
continent.  She appears eager to learn and collaborate with them in 
the future as she continues to engage in maternal and child health 
issues.  The Health Summit seemed to have had an energizing effect 
on Mrs. Koroma and her team, adding momentum to an already ambitious 
strategy she has been attempting to implement since her husband took 
office in late 2007.  Ambassador Perry encouraged the First Lady to 
continue this important agenda, since the Government of Sierra Leone 
cannot afford to forget about the health and service needs of the 
general population while they focus on political stability and 
economic development.  She also informed Mrs. Koroma of USG programs 
such as the Center of Disease Control Lassa Fever Clinic renovations 
and our HIV/AIDS educational initiative with the Sierra Leone 
Military forces. 
 
¶4. (U) Comment: It was delightful to see renewed energy in the First 
Lady's office, though also concerned by the apparent limit of her 
focus on faith-based initiatives.  Mrs. Koroma, in an effort to 
follow along with the traditional tendencies of rural communities, 
is attempting to channel Christian-based and Muslim-based charities 
to predetermined locations, keeping them separate, but claiming to 
give each equal attention.  This is somewhat contradicted by her 
obvious focus on the Matru Hospital, which she is actively promoting 
in order to create a state of the art hospital in the rural south of 
the country.  While the focus is most likely well intentioned, it 
could lead the administration to largely ignore other regions of the 
country, including Freetown where the bulk of the country's 
population lives.  The First Lady may need more encouragement in the 
future to create an integrated plan with the Ministry of Health. We 
have been invited to visit the Matru hospital with Mrs. Koroma in 
the future and anticipate USG donations to hospitals in various 
parts of Sierra Leone through Defense Department assistance. 
 
PERRY