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Sierra Leone’s National Public Health Agency, in collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control, conducted a high-level mission to The Gambia on 22 June 2026 to advance systems for managing health misinformation during disease outbreaks.
The delegation included Dr. Imaobong Udo Isang of the ECOWAS RCSDC and Sierra Leonean experts Michael Karama and Patrick Lansana. They met with a Gambian team led by Mr. Michael Manga Mendy, Director of Health Promotion and Risk Communication and Community Engagement.
Stakeholders from Public Health Emergency Management, the Emergency Operations Centre, and the National Call Centre also participated in technical consultations focused on reporting mechanisms and behavioral intelligence dashboards.
The team briefed Dr. Yusupha Touray, Permanent Secretary at The Gambia’s Ministry of Health. Discussions centered on institutionalizing standard operating procedures to monitor false health narratives, an issue Gambian and regional officials said complicated responses during the Ebola and COVID-19 outbreaks.
Gambian officials acknowledged the support of ECOWAS RCSDC Director General Dr. Mamadou Diarrassouba and NPHA Director General Prof. Foday Sahr, noting that accurate and timely communication is critical to protecting public health and livelihoods in the region.
Dr. Isang confirmed that the programme, which incorporates pilot models developed in Sierra Leone, will be extended to Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cabo Verde. The initiative aims to enable real-time monitoring and response to misleading health information that could undermine treatment and vaccination guidance.
