Sierra Leone News

Sierra Leone joined the rest of the world in commemorating World Malaria Day today 25 April 2012 on the theme “Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in malaria”. A local slogan: “Mosquito Net!! Malaria Free. Sound Sleep” was also chosen by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) to raise awareness on malaria prevention and control in the country. In a nation-wide broadcast the Minister of Health and Sanitation Hon Zainab Bangura, officially announced free treatment for confirmed malaria cases for all age groups in the country at government health facilities.

The Sierra Leone Health Sector Steering Group (HSSG) held one of its regular meetings at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) on Tuesday 17 April 2012. The meeting was Chaired by the Hon Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation and co-chaired by the Director of Planning and Information. In welcoming the partners, the Director of Policy, Planning and Information, Dr Magnus Gborie said that the regular meetings have helped to strengthen coordination among health partners in supporting the Joint Programme of Work and Funding (JPWF) 2012-2014.

The Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital with support from WHO, EU and the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS) on 12 April presented the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme Intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG) to 21 mental health nurses-in-training at the psychiatric hospital in Freetown. The intervention guide was provided to the trainees for use during the course of their training and to guide them in identifying priority mental health conditions after completion.

A team of senior officials from the directorate of Post Graduate Training, Non-communicable Diseases and Research in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, on Thursday 29 March paid a courtesy call on the WHO Representative, Dr Wondimagegnehu Alemu. The purpose of the visit was to update Dr Alemu on the on-going support for the introduction of local post graduate training and Continuing Professional Development that WHO is supporting. The team was led by Dr Donald Bash Taqi, director of the programme.

Sierra Leone commemorated World Health Day (WHD) together with other WHO member states on 7 April on the theme: Ageing and Health, with the slogan: Good Health Adds Life to Years. Activities to mark the occasion included a 5 Kilometre walk along the Lumley-Aberdeen beach. The walk was facilitated by the Ministry of Health & Sanitation (MoHS) and WHO. It drew participants from different groups including sport clubs, UN agencies, NGOs, government departments and the general public.

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), with support from WHO, conducted the periodic integrated sentinel surveillance review meeting at the Directorate of Disease Prevention and Control on 17 March 2012. Participants at the meeting included health personnel responsible for sentinel sites surveillance for Paediatric Bacterial Meningitis (PBM), Rotavirus and Influenza, officers from the Western Area District Health Team (DHMT) and the National Surveillance Programme (NSP), staff from the Central Public Health Referral Laboratory (CPHRL) and WHO Surveillance Officers.

Central Public Health Reference Laboratory (CPHRL) of Sierra Leone has been provisionally accredited to undertake measles and Yellow Fever (YF) laboratory diagnoses in the country by World Health Organization. The experts from WHO Headquarters and Inter-country Support Team of West Africa awarded the provisional accreditation following intensive bench training on laboratory diagnosis techniques and thorough assessment of the suitability of the laboratory set up.

Dr Wondi Alemu, WHO Representative handed over various items worth US$600,000 to Hon Minister of Health & Sanitation, Mrs Zainab Bangura on behalf of the WHO Director General, Dr Margaret Chan and the Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo on 19 March 2012. The Representative stated that WHO has prioritized building capacity of MoHS to take owner-ship of its programmes thereby ensuring strengthened and sustained health system for better health outcomes in the country. He assured WHO's continued support to improve the country's health indicators.

Preparation leading to the implementation of the first round of 2012 polio National Immunisation Days (NIDs) Campaign are on-going in Sierra Leone. Chiefdom level micro-plannings have been completed and compiled at district and national levels; and orientation of civil society groups, training of National Supervisors, Independent Monitors and the media have been done. The trainings would be rolled out to the districts and chiefdom levels with the objective to ensure quality training of vaccinators and to increase participation of community stakeholders.

In this Issue
1. Harmonization of Partners Financial Arrangement
2. Assessment of Nutrition Interventions in the Western Area
3. Launch of a Partnership for Safe Medicines Initiative
_______________________________________________________________________
Harmonization and Alignment of Development Partners Financial Management Arrangements
Background