Sierra Leone News

The Sierra Leone WHO Country Office has made great progress in promoting physical activity in the workplace through weekly aerobics sessions and monthly walks. Taking inspiration from the DG, Dr Tedros, and the RD, Dr Moeti, and in alignment with the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA) mission statement, the office is working diligently to ensure all staff have access to safe and enabling environments as well as diverse opportunities to be physically active in their daily lives.

To enhance Sierra Leone's polio surveillance capacity, a team of Environmental Surveillance (ES) experts from WHO Regional Office for Africa visited the country to support the Ministry of Health and the National Public Health Agency (NPHA). The mission focused on improving the performance of Environmental Surveillance (ES) sites in Freetown, considering expansions to other towns, and building the capacity of local sample collectors and supervisors.

Sierra Leone successfully completed a nationwide Measles and Rubella (MR) Supplementary Immunization campaign, achieving 99% coverage of the targeted population, according to administrative data. This campaign, which focused on children aged 9 to 59 months, resulted in the vaccination of 1,336,845 children. Notably, the campaign also identified and vaccinated 16,132 zero-dose children who had previously missed out on essential vaccinations. 

Sierra Leone makes progress towards elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis (LF), Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) 

The World Health Organization (WHO) team led by the WHO Country Representative Dr Innocent Nuwagira joined the Senior Leadership of the Ministry of Health (MOH) led by the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Sartie Kenneh on a two-day visit from 22 to 23 August 2024 to Moyamba district to check the readiness of sites at different levels of health care to implement person-centered life stage approach to health service delivery, which is es