Sierra Leone’s Minister of Health, Austin H. Demby, has held talks with his UAE counterpart, Ahmed Bin Ali Al Sayegh, on strengthening bilateral cooperation in healthcare infrastructure, public health emergency preparedness, and maternal, newborn and child survival on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit. Demby was accompanied by Chief Medical Officer Dr. med Mustapha Sundifu Kabba and Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to the UAE, Rashid Sesay.
Demby thanked the UAE for its support to Sierra Leone’s health sector, including the construction of a 100-bed field hospital in Port Loko District, the provision of emergency medical supplies and vaccine assistance during the Mpox outbreak. Drawing on lessons from the Ebola and COVID-19 outbreaks, he stressed the need to strengthen healthcare infrastructure, disease surveillance and emergency response systems.
The minister also highlighted the Government’s 300 Days of Activism for Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival campaign, which uses digital technology to monitor pregnancies, review pregnancy-loss cases and identify children who have not received life-saving vaccinations. He reported a 32 per cent reduction in maternal mortality and an 11.4 per cent decline in infant mortality during the campaign.
Demby further presented the proposed Jembe Medical Campus, which would include a 300-bed regional referral hospital and training institutions for medicine, nursing, midwifery and pharmacy. He expressed the Government’s interest in securing strategic partners to finance and construct the facility to expand specialised healthcare access and strengthen the national health workforce.
The UAE minister welcomed Demby’s participation in the summit, acknowledged progress in Sierra Leone’s health sector and reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to continued cooperation. The engagement forms part of Sierra Leone’s efforts to mobilise international partnerships to improve healthcare delivery, strengthen emergency preparedness and sustain progress in maternal, newborn and child survival.
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