A three-day Pandemic Preparedness and Response Learning Session for the Building Pandemic-Ready Communities (BPRC) project officially opened at Family Kingdom in Freetown. The initiative is spearheaded by the Eastern Africa National Networks of AIDS and Health Service Organizations (EANNASO), a regional network of AIDS and health service organizations operating across Anglophone Africa, in collaboration with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Sierra Leone Country Office.
Introducing the project, the lead facilitator from EANNASO, John Bev, said the organization is committed to empowering and supporting communities and civil society organizations to effectively contribute to national responses to HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and other public health challenges. He explained that the BPRC project is being implemented in both Rwanda and Sierra Leone to strengthen community-level pandemic preparedness and response systems through enhanced community engagement, public awareness, and sustainable community-led approaches.
He observed that the global health system continues to face recurring pandemics and public health emergencies, emphasizing that communities are central to effective preparedness and response efforts. He noted that the rationale for the project stems from the increasing frequency of health emergencies, limited community preparedness, challenges in risk communication, and issues of public trust, all of which require sustainable, community-driven solutions aligned with national and global priorities.
According to him, the project aims to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations, communities, and institutions in pandemic preparedness, response, and recovery. Its key objectives include empowering communities, increasing public awareness, and developing and disseminating community-led tools for pandemic preparedness and response.
Speaking on behalf of AHF Sierra Leone, Dr. Ifeanyi Egeonu, Medical Doctor for AHF, underscored the importance of the initiative. He said the partnership between AHF and EANNASO reflects a shared commitment to strengthening community resilience and preparedness for future public health emergencies.
Dr. Egeonu recalled that Sierra Leone was among the countries hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak, recording nearly 9,000 infections and close to 4,000 deaths between 2014 and 2016. The epidemic, he noted, severely weakened the country’s health system and disrupted its economy.
He added that the experiences of COVID-19 and the recent regional concerns surrounding Mpox have further reinforced the need for resilient health systems, rapid emergency coordination, and strong community trust in responding to public health threats. He stressed that communities are not merely beneficiaries of health interventions but are the first line of defense during public health emergencies.
These experiences, he said, have demonstrated the critical importance of investing in community systems, improving risk communication, strengthening surveillance mechanisms, and ensuring effective coordination between communities and formal health structures.
Dr. Egeonu further recalled that during the Ebola epidemic, community leaders, youth groups, women’s organizations, religious institutions, and local health workers played frontline roles in surveillance, awareness creation, contact tracing, stigma reduction, and behavior change communication. Their contributions, he said, proved that communities are indeed the first responders in health emergencies.
Since then, Sierra Leone has strengthened its pandemic preparedness systems through improved emergency coordination, enhanced disease surveillance, expanded laboratory capacity, stronger risk communication strategies, better infection prevention and control measures, and increased engagement of community health workers under the leadership of the Ministry of Health and its partners.
He noted that AHF Sierra Leone has been part of this journey by building the capacity of healthcare workers and communities, providing emergency supplies and infection prevention and control materials, supporting health facility infrastructure development, and contributing to emergency response operations.
Dr. Egeonu urged implementing partners and stakeholders to share their expertise, innovations, and field experiences to ensure the establishment of sustainable, community-driven pandemic preparedness systems capable of protecting communities from future health emergencies. He emphasized that sustainable preparedness can only be achieved when communities are empowered, well-informed, and actively engaged in planning and response efforts.
Through the BPRC project, he said, AHF and its partners seek to strengthen stakeholder collaboration, build technical capacity, and promote community-led approaches that will contribute to a more resilient health system capable of responding effectively to future disease outbreaks.
He commended the Government of Sierra Leone, civil society organizations, community groups, and all partners represented at the gathering for their commitment to safeguarding public health. Their participation, he said, demonstrates a collective determination to protect communities and ensure that no one is left behind in preparedness and response efforts.
Dr. Egeonu encouraged participants to actively engage throughout the three-day learning session by sharing experiences, discussing challenges, and identifying practical solutions to strengthen pandemic preparedness at both the community and national levels. He expressed confidence that the knowledge gained and partnerships strengthened during the meeting would contribute significantly to the successful implementation of the BPRC project and the achievement of its objectives.
On behalf of AHF Sierra Leone, he reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to supporting initiatives that promote health security, community empowerment, and sustainable public health systems.
