Project on improving public health capacity of Sierra Leone: content & activities

 

China has supported Sierra Leone to enhance its public health capacity through various activities, including enhancing capacity building of the P3 laboratory, sending experts to work in Sierra Leone, and exploring international cooperation to support the country in monitoring and emergency testing of newly emerging and recurring infectious diseases. Efforts have also been made to establish technical communication mechanisms with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone and key international partners such as the UK. Additionally, training programs have been implemented to cultivate talents in health management and technical expertise in Sierra Leone. The main activities include:

 

Conducting research on the actual situation in Sierra Leone. Three Chinese experts conducted a systematic research on the basic public health system, the prevalence of major infectious diseases, as well as the operation and maintenance status of the P3 laboratory in Sierra Leone.

 

Facilitating laboratory collaboration and exchange. (1) Two experts from the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team visited the P3 laboratory. (2) The Chinese delegation visited a laboratory established by Public Health England (PHE) in Makeni, North Sierra Leone, to gain insights into the laboratory's operations, staffing, and training arrangements.

 

Establishing a bacteriology and parasitology testing laboratory. After multiple rounds of communication between the Chinese and Sierra Leonean sides, the location of the bacteriology and parasitology testing laboratory was finalized, and the cleaning, clearing up, and a spatial layout plan was developed for the laboratory. Despite the constraints of limited resources, equipment was procured for the laboratory testing, and an assessment was conducted on the availability of reagents for bacterial testing.

 

Carrying out training and simulation exercises. (1) Participating in systematic theoretical training for biosafety level 3 laboratories. (2) Explaining the operational procedures for bacteriology and parasitology experiments through trainings, enabling personnel from both the Chinese and Sierra Leonean sides to understand and master the experimental procedures in the fixed laboratory.