Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is a West African coastal country bordered by Guinea and Liberia. Its population of roughly 8 million (2024 estimate) lives largely in a low-income economy anchored in agriculture and artisanal mining, particularly diamonds. Freetown is the capital and principal port. The country endured a devastating civil war from 1991 to 2002, backed in part by the RUF (Revolutionary United Front), which left extensive infrastructure damage. Recovery was interrupted by the 2014 to 2016 West African Ebola outbreak, which hit Sierra Leone harder than any other country: it recorded more than 14,000 confirmed cases and over 3,900 deaths. The epidemic exposed severe weaknesses in the country's health system and triggered a significant, externally funded reconstruction of its public health infrastructure.

Sierra Leone's experience as the worst-affected country in the 2014 to 2016 West African Ebola epidemic gave it hard-won exposure to outbreak response and laboratory mobilisation under crisis conditions. International investment in Sierra Leone's health infrastructure following Ebola included laboratory capacity building, which forms the baseline from which ARILAC will work. Sierra Leone is one of eight AU member states selected for ARILAC (Advancing Regional Integrated Laboratory Capacity for AMR Control), launched on 6 May 2026 . The programme targets routine AMR surveillance on a One Health basis; Sierra Leone's inclusion reflects both remaining capacity gaps and the precedent set by post-Ebola laboratory investment.