Sierra Leone News

FREETOWN, January 15 2018 --- With support from WHO, Helen Keller International and partners, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation is advancing efforts towards the elimination and control of onchocerciasis, or 'river blindness'. The country has also launched its revised five-year National Action Plan (2016-2020) for Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) elimination.

FREETOWN, December 15 2017 --- In 2017, a new programme was introduced in regional and district hospitals in Sierra Leone, to accelerate and strengthen emergency treatment for severely sick children. Supported by UK aid, WHO and partners, the Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment Programme (ETAT+) has already shown extremely promising results, including significant reductions in mortality.

FREETOWN, December 4 2017 --- This November, Sierra Leone’s Directorate of Food and Nutrition with support from WHO and UKAid organised a five-day training for hospital staff on the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), which is an initiative pioneered by WHO and UNICEF to help maternity facilities become trusted centres of breastfeeding and mother/baby bonding support. 

FREETOWN, November 16 2017 --- At a handover ceremony today, the World Health Organization in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB) donated 75 vehicles to Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health and Sanitation. The vehicles, which include 18 cars and 57 motorbikes, will be used to support disease surveillance and response to outbreaks and other public health emergencies.

FREETOWN, 6 November 2017 --- Today a new national five-year strategy and a policy for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) was launched in Sierra Leone, which aims to help reduce maternal and child deaths in the country.

Freetown, 2 November 2017 - The WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2017 published this week shows that Sierra Leone is one of 30 countries with the highest burden of the disease in the world. The country reported 14,114 TB cases in 2016 but many more cases likely go unreported.

Today Sierra Leone starts a four day nationwide house-house supplementary immunization campaign to vaccinate an estimated 1.5 million children under five years old against polio. Additional interventions integrated into this campaign include vitamin A supplementation for children 6-59 months; deworming for children 12-59 months and the identification and correction of children under 2 years that have missed their routine immunization schedules for other vaccines.

FREETOWN, 23 October 2017 --- In Sierra Leone, giving birth is one of the most dangerous times in a woman’s life. According to the most recent UN estimates, the country has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, at 1,360 deaths per 100,000 live births (UN, 2015). In simpler terms, this means that for every 100 babies born in the country, approximately one woman will lose her life. The nation also has high rates of neonatal deaths, and over 7,500 stillbirths are estimated to occur each year (WHO, 2013).