Since MSF first responded in Sierra Leone – during a cholera outbreak in 1986 – we have adapted and expanded our projects to meet the growing needs in the country. Today, our teams monitor the spread of different diseases, including COVID-19, and is helping to boost the pool of skilled and qualified medical staff.
In a country where child and maternal death rates are exceptionally high, our activities are focused on children under five, pregnant women and lactating mothers, especially in Kenema, in the country’s east.
MSF currently runs medical projects in three districts, Kenema, Tonkolili and Bombali, helping the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to provide general and specialist healthcare, including for tuberculosis and HIV. Our teams also provide psychosocial support and treatment for victims of sexual and gender-based violence.
To address the lack of skilled and qualified health workers, the MSF Academy has enrolled nurses and clinical heath officers in Kenema, to help improve the services and to deliver effective responses during emergencies.
Across all age groups, malaria is the country’s single biggest killer, accounting for 38 per cent of hospital admissions. Children are particularly vulnerable to malaria. In Sierra Leone, MSF treats malaria at Hangha hospital in Kenema district, and through mobile clinics that reach 25 villages in Kenema.
Outbreaks and civil war have severely weakened Sierra Leone’s health system. Children are affected by malaria, malnutrition, diarrhoea and skin diseases. To help address the burden of preventable disease and monitor disease outbreaks, MSF is part of the case management and surveillance group at the Sierra Leone Emergency Operations Centre.
Our activities focus on providing healthcare for children under the age of five in Hangha hospital, including therapeutic feeding for malnourished children, and general paediatric care. Our teams also provide care for pregnant and lactating women, including the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission. A new maternity ward in Hangha hospital includes two operating theatres for complicated deliveries and a neonatal unit.
MSF outreach teams are delivering community-based medical care directly to people in 25 remote and hard to reach villages to address medical issues such as malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia in Kenema district, through 10 local health units set up in these areas. Our activities also include ensuring consistent supplies of essential drugs, medical consultations, child vaccinations and health facility rehabilitations.
Data and information from the International Activity Report 2023.
In Kenema district, Eastern province, we run a hospital providing specialist medical care for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under the age of five. In addition, we support six general healthcare facilities across the district with training, donations of medical supplies, patient referrals and physical rehabilitation services.
In 2023, we also started to operate a mobile clinic to serve remote communities in the province. In addition to medical consultations and vaccinations for children under five, the clinic offers family planning and antenatal care, and organises referrals for patients requiring specialist services.
In Tonkolili district, Northern province, we work with the Ministry of Health in Mile 91 and the surrounding villages, as well as in Magburaka town. In Mile 91, our teams support 12 general healthcare centres with the aim of reducing maternal and child deaths. In Magburaka town, we focus on specialist healthcare and support the district hospital’s maternity, paediatric, neonatal and nutrition wards. We also support ambulance referrals from peripheral healthcare facilities to the hospital.
In both of these projects, our teams assist with community-based treatment for malaria, medical and psychosocial support for victims and survivors of sexual violence, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and family planning. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, we also run adolescent-friendly centres, which offer sexual and reproductive healthcare.
In Bombali district, we work with the ministry to increase access to TB treatment, including drug-resistant TB (DR-TB), for both adults and children. In 2023, patients continued to receive the shorter treatment regimen for DR-TB introduced by MSF, which has proved to be more effective and has fewer side effects.
