Midwife Sia Kallon listens to the heartbeat of 30-year old Baidu Jinnah Sheriff’s unborn baby, 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 2022

Data and information from the International Activity Report 2022.

MSF IN SIERRA LEONE IN 2022 In Sierra Leone, Doctors Without Borders/MSF made progress in treating drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in 2022, while continuing to run longstanding projects aimed at improving maternal and child healthcare.
MSF_Sierra Leone_IAR_2022_Map

We run projects in three districts, mainly focused on children under five, pregnant and lactating mothers, tuberculosis (TB) patients, and victims of sexual and gender-based violence.

In Kenema, a district with high rates of sickness and death among mothers and children, MSF’s Hangha Hospital provides emergency services to children under five, including inpatient therapeutic feeding and intensive care. We also provide healthcare to pregnant women, managing complications during pregnancy and delivery, as well as offering newborn care. In 2022, we also opened a comprehensive emergency obstetric and neonatal care centre in the hospital. The facility has a solar power plant, which means that it runs on 100 per cent renewable, cheap, locally produced energy during the day while using diesel generators at night.

In Tonkolili district’s Mile 91, we support general healthcare centres with the aim of reducing sickness and death from preventable causes among mothers and children. Patients requiring specialist care are referred to Magburaka district hospital, where we assist with maternal, neonatal, paediatric and comprehensive sexual and reproductive care. Services include prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, family planning, and medical and psychosocial support for victims of sexual and gender-based violence.

In 2022, the MSF Academy for Healthcare continued to run skills development programmes for nurses, midwives and other healthcare workers, providing training to improve performance and deliver effective responses during emergencies.

In Bombali district, our teams work in collaboration with the National Leprosy and Tuberculosis Control Programme to support the diagnosis and management of TB. In 2022, we achieved a major milestone: the treatment of DR-TB patients with a new regimen that is much shorter has fewer side effects and requires fewer pills, making it easier for them to tolerate and complete treatment. Sierra Leone is the first country in the world to make this regimen available as a first choice for patients with DR-TB.

 
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