Freetown - Sierra Leone has strengthened its national response to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on the 28 April 2026 following a high-level One Health Inter-Ministerial Meeting that delivered renewed political commitment, defined programmatic priorities, and reinforced partner alignment to protect child health and health system resilience.
AMR remains a major public health threat globally and nationally. In 2021, an estimated 1,630 deaths in Sierra Leone were directly attributable to AMR, with children under five accounting for the largest share of AMR‑associated deaths. These losses threaten child survival gains and highlight the urgent need for coordinated action across human, animal, and environmental health sectors.
The meeting convened ministers, senior government officials, programme managers, frontline health workers, and development partners. Participants reviewed national progress, identified key gaps, and agreed on priority actions to accelerate implementation of the national AMR agenda.
A central outcome was the reaffirmation of strong government leadership. Speaking on behalf of the Government, Dr Charles Senesi, Deputy Minister of Health reaffirmed strong political leadership: “The Government of Sierra Leone remains committed to strengthening One Health coordination and supporting the development and implementation of the new National Action Plan on AMR (2026–2030), with a particular focus on child health, maternal and newborn care, and primary healthcare.”
Representatives from key sectors highlighted critical challenges and sector-specific commitments. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security underscored the need to address the indiscriminate use of antimicrobials in livestock and committed to strengthening surveillance and promoting responsible use. The Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation emphasized persistent gaps in access to safe water and sanitation and committed to scaling up efforts to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) as a core component of AMR prevention.
Participants agreed on a set of priority actions, including expanding laboratory capacity and AMR surveillance systems, strengthening antimicrobial stewardship programmes across hospitals, and increasing investment in infection prevention and control (IPC) and WASH interventions.
National surveillance data presented at the meeting highlighted the urgency of these actions. Findings from six public and private laboratories showed resistance rates exceeding 80% to commonly used first-line antibiotics, including ampicillin and gentamicin. These trends reflect limited diagnostic capacity and widespread empirical antibiotic use, reinforcing the need to scale up culture and sensitivity testing.
The meeting also emphasized the broader implications of AMR for health system resilience and universal health coverage. Dr. Binyam Hailu, WHO Health Systems and Services Cluster Lead, stressed that the importance of strengthening diagnostics, institutionalizing antimicrobial stewardship, improving IPC practices, and increasing vaccination coverage to reduce infection rates and unnecessary antibiotic use.
Reiterating the continental commitment to combating AMR, Dr Clemens, Head of the Africa CDC team in Sierra Leone, called for stronger partner collaboration to mobilize resources for context‑specific, nationally led interventions.
The meeting concluded with shared agreement that AMR threatens child health, health system resilience, and national socio‑economic development. Through strengthened One Health coordination, sustained political commitment, and collective action, Sierra Leone is advancing practical steps to curb AMR and protect effective treatments for present and future generations.
