Sierra Leone News

Nearly 20% of target population vaccinated as Sierra Leone marks one year of COVID-1...

Freetown, 15 March 2022 - One year ago today Sierra Leone launched the COVID-19 vaccination, days after receiving the first doses from the COVAX Facility and others through bilateral partnerships. To date, 1.1 million of the country’s 8 million people have been fully vaccinated and efforts are ongoing to increase vaccine uptake to reach a wider proportion of the population.

WHO supports operational research capacity to boost prevention of antimicrobial resi...

Twelve national research participants completed the third module of the Structured Operational Research and Training Initiative (SORT IT) to help in combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Sierra Leone. The participants consisting of medical doctors, nurses and other public health professionals representing all sectors across the One Health platform were selected from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security (MAFFS), Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF). SORT IT is a global partnership coordinated by TDR, a Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases or TDR, Co-sponsored by UNICEF, UNDP, the World Bank and WHO.

WHO and Partners Support AMR Scientific Meeting

Freetown, 25th November 2021 - The World Antimicrobial Awareness Week climaxed with the scientific meeting which attracted participants from across academia, medical practice and scientific researchers who made various presentations that capture the status of AMR drivers in Sierra Leone, including the use of antibiotics in selected health facilities, HIV drug resistance, health financing and cost of AMR, surgical site infections and IPC strategies for AMR among others.

WHO boosts Sierra Leone’s COVID-19 response and disease surveillance with $600,000 w...

The World Health Organization has handed over a consignment of various laboratory commodities for COVID-19 as well as routine laboratory testing worth over $600,000 to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. The donation is part of the Organization’s continued assistance to Sierra Leone to scale-up COVID-19 testing and confirmation of cases in communities and public health facilities at national and sub-national levels; heightened surveillance for Ebola; and, to ensure availability of critical laboratory testing services for appropriate patient management.

WHO delivers 6.6 tons of emergency medical kits to Sierra Leone following fire disas...

Freetown, 09 November 2021 – World Health Organization has delivered 6.6 metric tons of emergency medical supplies to support the government and people of Sierra Leone in responding the 5 November fire disaster that killed and severely injured hundreds of people in Freetown. These lifesaving commodities were mobilized within 24 hours of WHO receiving a request from the Sierra Leonean authorities for urgent support to respond to the mass casualty incident.

Ministry of Health and Sanitation declares confirmed measles outbreaks in Kambia Dis...

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) today declared measles outbreak in Kambia District. There have been a total of three confirmed cases from a cluster of suspected cases in Bamoi Luma in the district. The MoHS is working with the World Health Organization and other partners and has dispatched Rapid Response Teams to conduct detailed investigation of the outbreak and plan for a robust and timely response.

WHO Sierra Leone concludes joint 2022-2023 Operational Planning Retreat with Ministr...

The World Health Organization Country Office in Sierra Leone has concluded a two-day high level technical and operational planning retreat with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to develop and validate the key priorities for the Organization’s 2022-2023 biennial Operational Work Plan. The consultative process facilitated strategic discussions on aligning the Organization’s two years activities with the health priorities of the government of Sierra Leone.

WHO-GIZ Cooperation continues to enhance Sierra Leone’s capacity to fight COVID-19

Thursday 1 July 2021, Freetown: As Sierra Leone battles her third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) in Sierra Leone with funding from our partners – GIZ and the German Cooperation - have once again supported the Ministry of Health and Sanitation with a donation of essential laboratory supplies that will help the country to respond to the third wave. The supplies include 82,000 sample collection kits; 1,620 automated PCR Kits (GeneXpert); and 10,000 antigen-based rapid diagnostic test kits (Ag-RDTs), altogether valued at $195,284.