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The National Public Health Agency (NPHA), in partnership with the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI), the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC), has concluded a three-day Staged Development Tool (SDT) Leadership Workshop at the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Freetown.
The workshop brought together the Agency’s leadership and staff from key departments, including Surveillance and Epidemiology, Laboratory Services, ICT, Legal Affairs, Mental Health, Gender, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Risk Communication, Port Health, Planning, Human Resources, Finance, and other technical units to identify and prioritise institutional development needs.
Using the internationally recognised SDT framework, participants assessed the Agency’s strengths, identified priority gaps, and developed practical action plans to strengthen governance, workforce capacity, disease surveillance, laboratory systems, emergency preparedness, and overall institutional performance.
Speaking at the close of the workshop, Executive Director, Professor Dr. Foday Sahr, emphasised that building a strong National Public Health Institute is essential to protecting the health of all Sierra Leoneans. He said the SDT process would help position the NPHA as a more resilient, efficient, and globally recognised institution capable of preventing, detecting, and responding effectively to public health threats.
The workshop forms part of ongoing efforts to strengthen Sierra Leone’s public health system and enhance the country’s preparedness and response to current and emerging health emergencies. Through these initiatives, the NPHA continues to advance national health security while contributing to regional and global public health preparedness.
