On November 2, 2024, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the National Public Health Agency, held a courtesy call meeting with the Gavi Press Team, which included international journalists from France, Italy, Kenya, and Uganda. The objective of their trip to Sierra Leone is to cover the major gains made by the Ministry of Health in overcoming Ebola (EVD), COVID-19, and other outbreaks in Sierra Leone. While they will focus on success stories, they also aim to understand the struggles the country faced in achieving these goals.
The Deputy Minister 1 of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Charles Senessie, Deputy Executive Secretary Dr. Mohamed Alex Vandi, Expanded Program for Immunization (EPI) Manager Dr. Desmond Kangbai, and staff from the Ministry of Health and NPHA were in attendance. Dr. Senessie also spoke about the establishment of the NPHA. The team will travel to Kailahun, Koindu, and Kenema, where they will visit burial sites of Ebola victims and the grave of the late Dr. Khan, who was at the forefront of treating patients during the outbreak. This visit comes ahead of the upcoming rollout of the Ebola preventive vaccine.
The journalists are particularly interested in highlighting the collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Health and Gavi in improving public health outcomes. They will also cover successive stories on malaria, HPV, and yellow fever vaccines that Gavi has supported over the years. One of their journalists mentioned that the coverage will be titled, "We Must Tell Our Story." The multimedia content will be published through their various publications and outlets.
This is a historic and positive moment in global health, showcasing how preparedness, response, and disease outbreak management have dramatically improved over the past decade. From 2014 to 2016, the world witnessed the devastating Ebola outbreak, which claimed more than 11,000 lives and exposed weaknesses in health security, including a lack of approved vaccines. A decade later, the situation has transformed significantly. During the 2014 outbreak, Gavi immediately invested in investigational vaccines and subsequently established a global vaccine stockpile, which has dramatically reduced cases and deaths.
Dr. Senessie, in his statement, welcomed the team to Sierra Leone and shared the changes in the health system since 2014. He highlighted the significant progress made in vaccine development and distribution, emphasizing the importance of global collaboration in addressing health security threats. Dr. Senessie also expressed optimism about the future of the health system, with a stronger focus on preparedness and response to potential outbreaks.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, plays a crucial role in supporting countries by increasing access to vaccines. They provide financial support, technical expertise, and market-shaping efforts to lower vaccine costs. Gavi supports vaccines against 20 infectious diseases, including COVID-19, Ebola, malaria, and HPV. They also co-convene COVAX, which supplies free COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries. Since its inception, Gavi has helped vaccinate more than 1.1 billion children in 78 countries, averting over 18.8 million future deaths.