MSF, Doctors Without Borders, Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Disease outbreaks – including of Ebola and, more recently, COVID-19 – and years of civil war have devastated the healthcare system in Sierra Leone, leaving it severely understaffed.

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.

What are we doing in Sierra Leone?

OUR ACTIVITIES IN SIERRA LEONE IN 2023

Data and information from the International Activity Report 2023.

MSF IN SIERRA LEONE IN 2023 Improving healthcare for mothers and children remains a priority for Doctors Without Border (MSF) in Sierra Leone. Since 2019, we have also been running a tuberculosis (TB) project in Bombali district.
MSF activities in Sierra Leone in 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.

 
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