Freetown—Sierra Leone concluded a three-day national workshop in Freetown to advance the development of the National Health Sector Strategic Plan (NHSSP) 2026–2030. The workshop gathered more than 120 stakeholders from the Ministry of Health, related ministries, departments and agencies, development partners, and the wider health sector. The event marked a key milestone in the country’s efforts to accelerate progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and strengthen national health security.

The Ministry of Health led the process with technical support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and development partners. The new five-year strategy is expected to build on lessons learned from the outgoing NHSSP 2021–2025, which concludes in 2025.

The workshop opened with a presentation of key findings from the End-Term Review of the NHSSP 2021–2025, conducted by the NHSSP core team together with national and international consultants. The review provided an evidence-based foundation for dialogue on emerging priorities, persistent challenges, and areas requiring increased investment.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, underscored the transformative nature of the planning process and called for a unified national vision. “This moment calls for bold action. The next five years of healthcare in Sierra Leone must be defined by our collective vision, not our constraints. We are reimagining a system that delivers high-quality care for every person, strengthens our communities, and uses real-time data to solve problems before they grow. Partners will align with our national direction, but the drive, the ownership, and the responsibility rest with us. This is our opportunity to make history, and we must seize it,” he stated during his keynote address.

WHO provided technical expertise throughout the process, deploying a team of four international experts to support the development of the new strategy. UNICEF also provided support to the development process with a national consultant.

In his remarks, WHO Country Representative, Dr. George Ameh, emphasized the need for a forward-looking and coherent document that anchors all sector actors to a common national direction. “The plan must reflect the voices, needs, and realities of the national, district, and community levels. It must serve as a common reference point for all partners, ensuring alignment, reducing fragmentation, and promoting accountability,” he said. Dr. Ameh reaffirmed WHO’s commitment and noted that the Organization had mobilised substantial technical expertise to accompany the Ministry throughout the process.

Over the three days, participants worked collaboratively to shape the strategic objectives and proposed interventions for the new plan. Deliberations drew on district and community perspectives and reinforced the principle of “One Plan, One Budget, One Report,” in line with the Ministry’s Aid Memoire. This approach strengthened coherence across programmes and directorates and established the basis for effective costing, resource mobilisation, and accountability.

The workshop concluded with a set of clear recommendations and well-defined priorities aligned across all directorates and programmes. These priorities aim to address the health needs of Sierra Leoneans by 2030, with a strong emphasis on strengthening primary health care, improving service delivery at community level, and enhancing critical systems such as the health workforce, infrastructure, and supply chains.

As Sierra Leone moves into the next phase of the NHSSP development process, the country is taking decisive steps toward building a more resilient, equitable, and people-centred health system capable of delivering quality care for all.