Sierra Leone News

FREETOWN, April 7th 2017 --- On World Health Day, the Government of Sierra Leone, the World Health Organization, the Mental Health Coalition and partners are calling for urgent action on depression in Sierra Leone, which affects at least 240,000 people in the country every year. Stigma and lack of accurate information on mental health issues are critical impediments to treatment and recovery, health experts say.

A new SMS-based reporting system has been introduced in Sierra Leone to improve identification, detection and reporting of suspected acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases in children less than 15 years, with the initial training of 520 health workers and community informants.

Following the Ebola crisis, a decade-long Civil War and with significant poverty, depression is estimated to be very common in Sierra Leone, affecting at least three percent of the population in any single year. Mental health practitioners also report that anxiety, psychosis and substance abuse are significant public health concerns. 

Preparations are currently underway for a vast bed net distribution campaign in Sierra Leone. Planned for June this year, the campaign aims to distribute around 4.3 million insecticide-treated bed nets to households nationwide to help protect them against malaria, which remains one of the country’s leading causes of death and illness.

An isolated case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Pujehun district, Sierra Leone. This is the third known occurrence of monkeypox in the country, with the first reported case in 1970 and the second in 2014. 

The patient, a 35-year-old male, was admitted to Pujehun District Hospital on 25th March 2017 where he is currently undergoing supportive treatment. Biological samples were shipped to Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo for laboratory testing and were confirmed positive for the monkeypox virus on 17th April 2017. 

Today the Government of Sierra Leone and its partners launched a new five-year Strategy for Human Resources for Health (2017-2021). By guiding investments in the health workforce, the Strategy will support the country to improve the quality of health services and ensure it is better placed to respond to current and emerging health needs. 

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation is in the process of migrating disease surveillance reporting from a cumbersome paper-based system to a web-based electronic platform (e-IDSR) for real-time information flows. The process is part of the revitalisation of disease surveillance and response in Sierra Leone supported by WHO in partnership with the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and e-Health Africa.

May 31 2017 --- On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, the World Health Organization is highlighting how tobacco threatens the development of nations worldwide, and is calling on governments to implement strong tobacco control measures. Globally tobacco kills more than 7 million people each year, which is one death every five seconds. 

FREETOWN (31 May 2017)—Sierra Leone’s latest Maternal Death and Surveillance Report, released today at a launch in the capital, Freetown, calls for united actions from government, health workers, communities and partners to tackle the high number of maternal deaths in the country. In all, a total of 706 maternal deaths were reported during 2016, though the report suggests that the true figure may be much higher still. 

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) conducted a stakeholders’ consultative meeting from 8-9 May 2012. The purpose of the meeting was to seek stakeholders input, build consensus and develop a road map in finalizing the draft National Human Resources for Health (HRH) Policy and Strategic Plan for Sierra Leone.
The Chief Medical Officer, Dr Kisito Daoh, in his opening statement said that the meeting should serve as an opportunity for stakeholders to make inputs into the documents which will inform & advise the Ministry in addressing HRH challenges.