Sierra Leone Program Focus

In Sierra Leone, MLI is helping the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) to increase its capacity to account for and report on all government and donor health expenditures and to build a financial management system capable of efficiently generating the information required for decision-making.  In addition, MLI is helping the Ministry to harmonize development assistance, moving toward a Sector-wide Approach, an IHP+ Country Compact, and potentially a pool funding arrangement. MLI is also working with the Director of the Reproductive and Child Health Directorate to identify areas for capacity-building as well as to increase the ability of the RCH Directorate to use evidence more effectively for policy action. 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 to MoHS to 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.

• Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) by supporting the development of a policy advocacy strategy to increase support for family planning amongst major decision-makers and integrate family planning policy into broader development and health policy.

• Communications by providing technical support to improve Ministry leaders’ ability to communicate their priorities more effectively to government and civil society stakeholders such as 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.