Sierra Leone has concluded a three-day national workshop in Freetown to advance the development of the National Health Sector Strategic Plan (NHSSP) 2026–2030.
The workshop brought together more than 120 stakeholders from the Ministry of Health, various government ministries, departments and agencies, development partners, and representatives from the broader health sector. The event marked a major milestone in the country’s efforts to accelerate progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and strengthen national health security.
Led by the Ministry of Health, with technical support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other development partners, the new five-year strategy aims to build on lessons learned from the outgoing NHSSP 2021–2025, which concludes this year.
The workshop opened with a presentation of findings from the End-Term Review of the NHSSP 2021–2025, conducted by the NHSSP core team alongside national and international consultants. The review provided an evidence-based foundation for discussions on emerging priorities, persistent challenges, and areas requiring greater investment.
Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, highlighted the transformative nature of the planning process and called for a unified national vision.
“This moment calls for bold action. The next five years of healthcare in Sierra Leone must be defined by our collective vision, not our constraints. We are reimagining a system that delivers high-quality care for every person, strengthens our communities, and uses real-time data to solve problems before they grow. Partners will align with our national direction, but the drive, the ownership, and the responsibility rest with us. This is our opportunity to make history, and we must seize it,” he said.
WHO provided technical expertise throughout the process, deploying four international experts to support the strategy’s development. UNICEF also contributed through the engagement of a national consultant.
WHO Country Representative, Dr. George Ameh, emphasized the importance of a forward-looking and coherent strategic plan.
“The plan must reflect the voices, needs, and realities of the national, district, and community levels. It must serve as a common reference point for all partners, ensuring alignment, reducing fragmentation, and promoting accountability,” he stated, reaffirming WHO’s commitment to supporting the Ministry.
During the three-day workshop, participants collaboratively shaped the strategic objectives and proposed interventions for the new plan. Deliberations incorporated district and community perspectives and reinforced the Ministry’s principle of “One Plan, One Budget, One Report,” strengthening coherence across programmes and directorates and laying the groundwork for effective costing, resource mobilization, and accountability.
The workshop concluded with clear recommendations and well-defined priorities aligned across all directorates and programmes. These priorities aim to address the health needs of Sierra Leoneans by 2030, with strong emphasis on strengthening primary health care, improving community-level service delivery, and enhancing critical systems such as the health workforce, infrastructure, and supply chains.
As Sierra Leone moves into the next phase of the NHSSP development process, the country is taking decisive steps toward building a more resilient, equitable, and people-centred health system capable of delivering quality care for all.