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Sierra Leone’s Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, has called for equitable and rapid pandemic financing mechanisms that better serve vulnerable countries before crises emerge.
Dr. Demby made the appeal on Thursday, 21st May 2026, during a high-level panel discussion at the ongoing World Health Assembly (WHA79) on “Scaling Innovative Financing for the Next Pandemic,” organised by the Global Vaccine Alliance (Gavi).
The Minister used the session, chaired by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and moderated by Gavi CEO Sania Nishtar, to warn that Sierra Leone is already experiencing the impacts of global instability, including a 40% rise in domestic fuel prices linked to the Middle East crisis, as well as growing uncertainty around pharmaceutical supply replenishment.
He highlighted Sierra Leone’s strengthening preparedness framework, including the Public Health Emergency Trust Fund established in 2023, the operational Pandemic Fund under the National Public Health Agency (NPHA), and the National Health Compact 2025–2030, which serves as the country’s coordination platform for emergency and health systems financing.
Drawing lessons from the Ebola outbreak, COVID-19 pandemic, and the recent Mpox response, Dr. Demby stressed that “preparedness cannot be separated from strong everyday health systems, including frontline workers, surveillance systems, supply chains, community trust, and domestic financing capacity.”
“Sierra Leone’s surveillance system is embedded within primary healthcare because outbreaks begin in communities and are ultimately controlled within communities,” he noted, adding that strengthening surveillance, preparedness, prevention, detection, and response systems remains essential for effective outbreak response and national resilience.
He further urged global partners to integrate equity into pandemic financing instruments from the outset, stressing that countries most vulnerable to outbreaks are often least able to absorb financing gaps during the critical first 30 days of an emergency.
