Abandoned Waterloo Hospital Project Sparks Outcry for Government Intervention

Abandoned Waterloo Hospital Project Sparks Outcry for Government Intervention

A 100-bed hospital project in Waterloo, initiated in 2017 with funding from the Kuwait government, has been left derelict for years, prompting a women-led civil society organization to demand immediate government action for its completion.

Doris Fatima Webber, the director of the Women’s Advocacy and Agricultural Development Organization, highlights the alarming stagnation of the Waterloo project. She points out that similar hospitals launched concurrently in Rokupa, King Harman Road, and Lumley have been fully operational for over five years, underscoring a significant disparity.

Unlike its counterparts, the Waterloo facility remains structurally incomplete and has fallen into severe disrepair. The site has been plagued by theft and vandalism, resulting in the loss of air conditioners and other essential materials. Furthermore, the unfinished building has become a haven for illegal stone mining, with individuals squatting and breaking stones, despite attempts by the police to clear the area.

The advocacy group is urgently appealing to the Government of Sierra Leone to step in and finalize the hospital. They argue that its completion is vital to enhancing access to healthcare in the Western Area Rural District, which they claim is the only district in the nation without a government hospital.

The organization also voiced serious concerns regarding the mismanagement of resources allocated for the project since 2017, questioning why the funds have not been utilized to complete the hospital while the abandoned structure continues to suffer extensive damage.