Author: gleanernewspaper

By-William Morris “For youth who play such a large portion of the population (in Sierra Leone), they’re going to be the ones shaping the future,” said Jon Wogman, the foundation’s senior program manager for youth programs. “So the opportunity to engage them, hear their ideas, be able to see what they thought was really needed to address improvements … was a really incredible experience.” Foundation president Mashal Husain said the organization began running its Youth Institute in 1994 and today operates 20 annual sessions around America and in six foreign countries. It first launched in Africa last year with institutes…

The African Bar Association (AfBA) has publicly praised Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio for his leadership as chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) during a difficult regional period, and has pledged its support for efforts to strengthen engagement with the Alliance of Sahel States. In a formal letter to President Bio signed by AfBA President High Chief Ibrahim Eddie Mark, the association acknowledged the complexities of the challenges confronting ECOWAS as Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso—all currently under military rule—move forward with plans to exit the West African bloc and deepen cooperation within the AES.…

UNICEF and Statistics Sierra Leone (Stats SL) have completed a focused ten-day Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) Pretest and Training of Trainers (ToT) program in preparation for the nationwide rollout of the seventh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS-7). The workshop, which took place from August 4 to 13, 2025, brought together 32 staff members from Stats SL’s Demographic Health & Social Statistics and Data Science Divisions for intensive training in digital survey methods and the complete set of MICS-7 questionnaires. The program aimed to improve national capacity for high-quality, standardised data collection. Participants were given hands-on experience with modern CAPI devices…

Dr. Alieu Kamara of Sierra Leone stands in front of a surgical bed outfitted with improvised bolsters and a foam headrest. He is the country’s first and only neurosurgeon. “We used to lose a lot of patients due to head injuries, spinal cord injuries, spine fractures and the like,” Kamara said. “There was nothing we could do for them.” That reality inspired him to pursue training in the field. By Sophia Li Morie Abibu, a 56-year-old father of three, lies on a hospital bed in the humid Sierra Leonean heat. He is paralysed from the neck down. After months of immobility,…

The EU Health Task Force (EUHTF) has deployed two ECDC experts to Freetown, Sierra Leone, via the DG ECHO Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) to support the national response to the ongoing mpox clade IIb outbreak. This two-week mission comes at a critical time as the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and National Public Health Agency (NPHA) review their three-month Action Plan aiming to contain and end this outbreak. The two experts, an epidemiologist and a risk communicator , are working closely with national stakeholders, including the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health, Africa CDC colleagues, and with the support of…

Following a working visit to the city as part of the Afrimedia Tour 2025, residents of Makeni have showered Africell Sierra Leone CEO Shadi Gerjawi with praise, calling him a “God-sent man.” Senior management teams from Africell and Afrimoney, as well as Martison Obeng-Agyei, CEO of Afrimoney, joined Gerjawi on the visit. The delegation’s objectives were to interact directly with clients, introduce new developments and prospects, and bring the company’s services closer to the Makeni community. Gerjawi emphasised the value of getting candid, helpful feedback from clients in Makeni and the surrounding areas during the public engagement. He reaffirmed Africell’s…

During the team’s training session this morning at the Sierra Leone Football Association’s (SLFA) headquarters in Freetown, the technical staff and players were formally introduced to Abdul Karim Bangura (AKB), the recently hired Team Manager of the Leone Stars. Mohammed Benson Bawoh, the Acting General Secretary, gave the introduction. In his introductory remarks to the players and technical staff, Bangura said: “I accept this appointment as the Team Manager of our beloved national team, the Leone Stars, with great pride and humility. This is not just a personal honour but a call to national service, and I want to sincerely…

President Dr. Julius Maada Bio welcomed the newly elected executive of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA), led by President Babadi Kamara, to State House. The courtesy visit highlighted the association’s commitment to promoting peace, unity, and transparent administration throughout the country’s football landscape. Dr. Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai, Executive Director of the National Sports Authority (NSA), took the opportunity to thank the government for its continued investment in sports, particularly football. He emphasised the game’s broad social and economic benefits, pointing out that football has created job opportunities for Sierra Leonean youth both locally and abroad, as well as contributed…

There is “no more business as usual” when it comes to bureaucratic delays in implementing crucial development projects, as the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Madam Kenyeh Barlay, has strongly warned civil service administrators and stakeholders. “The time is now to ensure civil servants can access affordable financial services for medical needs, school and college fees, and other emergencies,” Madam Barlay said during a High-Level Stakeholder Meeting on the Operationalisation of the Civil Service Cooperative Credit Union (CivSCCU), which was held in the Ministry of Finance’s George Street conference hall. The meeting aimed to strengthen the common goal of…

The concession and related stakeholder documentation for the reconstruction of the 85-kilometre Mano Junction–Tongo–Bumpeh road were approved by the Sierra Leonean Parliament on Wednesday, along with several amendments intended to safeguard the interests of the State and road users. The following agreements were presented to the House last Monday: (1) a concession agreement dated August 4, 2025, between the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA) and the Ministry of Works and Public Assets (MoWPA) on behalf of the Government of Sierra Leone, and Societe Djura Maritel Construction (SDMCO) Ltd and partners for the design, reconstruction, tolling, operation, and maintenance of the…