23/04/2026
A two-day high-level executive discussion on Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) and Incident Management Systems (IMS) concluded today, 23rd April 2026, facilitated by Subject matter experts from the United States Center for Disease control and Prevention ( US CDC) from the United States. This activity was preceded by an assessment of Public Health Emergency management capacity in Sierra Leone that began on Wednesday, April 15th 2026 by the US CDC team.
The two day meeting brought together stakeholders directly involved in emergency preparedness and response from ministries, departments, and agencies, including the National Public Health Agency (NPHA) to review findings, assess current preparedness levels, and discuss next steps for implementing the PHEM Program in Sierra Leone. Discussions focused on incident management structure, gaps, lessons learned from previous outbreaks, and strengthening public health emergency management architecture at all levels.
Sessions were facilitated by Mark Frank, Rodel Desamu Thorpe, Shivani Dama, from the CDC, and Dr. Squire from the NPHA, who shared global best practices in emergency coordination, leadership, and response structures.
HEADA Sierra Leone appreciates the leadership of the NPHA in making the engagement successful, and also thanks Dr. Monique Foster, Director of US CDC, whose support made the participation of the expert team possible.
# US Embassy Freetown