MPox strains Sierra Leone's fragile health system
Physicians from Médecins sans Frontières (MSF or Doctors Without Borders) have recently reported that Sierra Leone is experiencing an outbreak of monkeypox, or MPox, with an average of 120 new cases recorded daily since April 25, 2025. MSF has rehabilitated an infectious isolation ward in the nation's capital to support the response to the outbreak. They have also donated infection prevention and control materials and installed a chlorine production unit. Furthermore, MSF donated a pickup truck and four motorbikes to the district health management team in Kenema District , located in eastern Sierra Leone, to enhance surveillance and contact tracing for MPox and Lassa Fever. With a population of 8.3 million, Sierra Leone's health system had already been struggling, as highlighted by the Ebola virus epidemic. A 2022 study revealed that all vaccine doses came from abroad. On April 23, 2025, Saidu Bah reported that Sierra Leone became the 14th member state of the African ...