Speaking at the donation ceremony held at the Youyi Building compound in Freetown, UNICEF Country Representative Geert Capalaere said the vehicles "are going to be used to help the health sector in the country."

He said the donation will also be used to support immunization, nutrition, water and sanitation activities, mother and child health campaigns, and peripheral health unit supervision. "The gesture is a symbol of UNICEF's continued commitment to strengthening capacity in the health care delivery services of the country," he said.

In 2008, the World Bank and UNICEF also provided 45 vehicles and more than 2,000 motorbikes to strengthen coordination within the reproductive and child health programme.Capalaere said his organization is committed to improving the health status of the under-five children and pregnant women in Sierra Leone.

Health and sanitation minister, Dr. Soccoh Kabia expressed gratitude to UNICEF and Irish Aid for their support, saying that the donation would go a long way in strengthening capacity within the reproductive and child health programme, which is now used as a roadmap to reduce maternal and child mortality in the country. "It is a programme that would be used as interventions for other major programmes within the health care delivery system," Dr Kabia said.

He said the recent demographic health survey shows there have been dramatic improvements in the mortality rates for maternal, under-five and infant mortality. "I am working with all my health partners in the country so that in very short time we will succeed," he said.

He said the gesture from UNICEF and Irish Aid came at a critical time and that he would ensure its effective and judicious use for the benefit of the country.

The acting chief medical officer, Dr. Sheku Daoh said that effective partnerships in supporting the ministry are the way forward to improving the health situation in the country.