Sierra Leone Program Focus

In Sierra Leone, MLI is providing direct support to the office of the Minister of Health and is serving as a principal advisor to the Minister.  In this trusted role, MLI is helping the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) to advance on their top priorities, including  building a financial management system capable of efficiently generating the information required for decision-making, helping the Ministry to harmonize development assistance and move toward a Sector-wide Approach, an IHP+ Country Compact, and potentially a pool funding arrangement. MLI activities in Sierra Leone include:

• Financial Management by engaging PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to work with the MoHS to conduct an assessment of the capacity of the Financial Management Unit and to provide technical support and increase the capacity of the MoHS to account for and report on all government and donor health expenditures and  address the most urgent financial management needs identified in the assessment.
• Donor Coordination by working with the MoHS and development partners to strengthen the ability of the MoHS to lead day-to-day coordination of external assistance and mapping and monitoring development partners’ and NGOs’ activities in the health sector. Sierra Leone has also become an IHP+ signatory and in record time has finalized their own IHP+ country Compact.
• Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) by supporting the development and implementation of a policy advocacy strategy to increase support for girls’ education by addressing and reducing teen pregnancy and early marriage.
• Communications by providing technical support to improve Ministry leaders’ ability to communicate their priorities more effectively to government and civil society stakeholders and through global media outlets, as was done with the lead up to and following the launch of Free Health Care for Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Children Under the Age of Five.