Sierra Leone News

Pujehun District, Sierra Leone – August 2025

Helinda Saffiatu Sandi is no stranger to the challenges of public health service delivery. At 37 years old, the trained nurse from Pujehun Government Hospital has dedicated the past five years to caring for her community, first at a Peripheral Health Unit (PHU), and now as a member of the District Health Management Team (DHMT). Her story is one of perseverance, community trust-building, and deep commitment to disease prevention.

Bo district, 31 July: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to pose a serious public health threat globally, undermining the effective treatment of infections in humans and animals. In response, the Ministry of Health, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and funding from the Fleming Fund, conducted a four-day national training workshop from 28–31 July 2025 in Bo district to strengthen AMR surveillance systems in Sierra Leone.

As part of efforts to strengthen collaboration and close response gaps in the ongoing Mpox outbreak, the National Public Health Agency (NPHA), with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), convened a strategic engagement with private healthcare practitioners in Freetown. The meeting, held at Brookfields Hotel, focused on enhancing the integration of private sector actors into national Mpox response strategies, including surveillance, laboratory systems, vaccination, infection prevention and control (IPC), and case management.

Dare Es Salam, Gbinleh Chiefdom, Kambia District – July 2025

In the rural village of Dare Es Salam in Gbinleh Chiefdom, Kambia District, 54-year-old Maligie Fofanah walks from house to house, quietly supporting his community’s health. As a Community Health Worker (CHW) Peer Supervisor, Maligie is part of the broader national and district response efforts to Mpox, working alongside teams deployed with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners.

Freetown, 24 July 2025 – Sierra Leone has concluded a two-day virtual training aimed at strengthening the capacity of its national polio committees, as part of a wider regional effort spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa. The training, which ended today, targeted members of the National Certification Committee (NCC), National Polio Expert Committee (NPEC), National Task Force (NTF), and their secretariat.

“When communities are informed and empowered, they become the first and strongest line of defence in public health emergencies.” – Dr. George Ameh, WHO Country Representative in Sierra Leone.

Port Loko - Sierra Leone has received an additional 50,000 doses of the Mpox vaccine to strengthen its response to the ongoing outbreak. The latest consignment brings the total number of Mpox vaccine doses received in-country to approximately 203,300, with the vaccines provided through the support of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and other partners.

Freetown - The World Health Organization (WHO) today handed over eight vehicles to Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health during a brief ceremony held at the Youyi Building in Freetown. The donation, made under the Pandemic Fund Agreement, aims to bolster disease surveillance and emergency response capacities at the district level, particularly in the context of the ongoing Mpox outbreak.

Freetown, Sierra Leone – April 2025 – Sierra Leone hosted the high-level commemoration of African Vaccination Week (AVW) 2025 in Freetown, bringing together global and regional health leaders. Distinguished guests included the Chief Executive Officer of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as well as senior representatives from the African Union, Africa CDC, WHO, UNICEF, Ministry of Health, and the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society (SLRCS).

Freetown - In a major step to sustain gains in digital disease surveillance, Sierra Leone has completed another successful round of nationwide troubleshooting of health facility devices used in electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (eIDSR). Conducted in May and June 2025, the technical exercise covered all 16 districts and aimed to enhance the performance and sustainability of the country’s electronic reporting system.