AYV News, May 22, 2026
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Health, Austin Demby, has called for equitable and rapid pandemic financing mechanisms that support vulnerable countries before health crises emerge.
Dr. Demby made the appeal on Thursday, 21 May 2026, during a high-level panel discussion at the ongoing 79th World Health Assembly on “Scaling Innovative Financing for the Next Pandemic,” organized by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
The discussion was chaired by Helen Clark and moderated by Sania Nishtar.
During the session, Dr. Demby warned that Sierra Leone is already feeling the impact of global instability, including a 40 percent increase in domestic fuel prices linked to the Middle East crisis, alongside growing concerns over pharmaceutical supply chains and replenishment.
The Minister highlighted Sierra Leone’s expanding preparedness framework, including the Public Health Emergency Trust Fund established in 2023, the operational Pandemic Fund under the National Public Health Agency (NPHA), and the National Health Compact 2025–2030, which serves as the country’s coordination platform for emergency and health systems financing.
Drawing lessons from the Ebola outbreak, COVID-19 pandemic, and the recent Mpox response, Dr. Dembystressed that pandemic preparedness must be built on strong everyday health systems.
“Preparedness cannot be separated from strong everyday health systems, including frontline workers, surveillance systems, supply chains, community trust, and domestic financing capacity,” he stated.
He further explained that Sierra Leone’s disease surveillance system is integrated within primary healthcare structures because outbreaks often begin and are controlled within communities.
The Minister emphasized the importance of strengthening surveillance, preparedness, prevention, detection, and response systems to improve national resilience against future health emergencies.
Dr. Demby concluded by urging global partners to embed fairness and equity into pandemic financing systems from the outset, noting that countries most vulnerable to outbreaks are often the least capable of addressing financing gaps during the critical first 30 days of an emergency.
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