“Help for Life and Health for All”: CUAMM and Ministry of Health Open PEN-Plus Clinic in Sierra Leone

“Help for life and health for all!” wrote Dr. Giacamo Marro of Doctors with Africa CUAMM on the Italian NGO’s blog. “With this message of hope and commitment, chosen by the health personnel, the PEN-Plus clinic for chronic non-communicable diseases at the government hospital in Pujehun was officially opened in a facility rehabilitated by CUAMM. This is a big step forward, achieved thanks to the PEN-Plus project, in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, with funds from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the NCDI Poverty Network.”

Images by Doctors With African CUAMM

The launch event was attended by Ministry of Health officials, including head of the NCD department Dr. Santigie Sesay, as well as district stakeholders, clinic beneficiaries, and the press.

“Investing in NCDs is critical to increasing life expectancy in Sierra Leone,” said Dr. Sesay, who is also a member of the NCDI Poverty Network’s Steering Committee. “Sierra Leone faces not only the challenge of slowing the spread of communicable conditions HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, but is also seeing high numbers of people affected by severe NCDs such as heart disease and stroke, diabetes, cancer, and chronic lung diseases.”

Positive Results

The PEN-Plus clinic initially opened last December but moved to a new building in February 2023. It has already produced positive results. So far, about 170 patients have received initial and follow up treatments for conditions such as hypertension, type 1 and 2 diabetes, sickle cell disease, chronic liver disease, and epilepsy free of charge.

“Until a few months ago, there was no insulin. Now we have young patients who measure their blood glucose at home with a glucometer and are able to self-administer insulin.” - Giacomo Marro, CUAMM doctor, Pujehun, Sierra Leone

The aim of the clinic is to create a place of “health for all” that will serve as a reference point for NCD care, develop health education campaigns for local communities, and decentralize health services in order to be more accessible to patients in need, no matter where they live. Consistent with these goals, the team chose “help for life and health for all” as their slogan.

Learn more about the Pujehun PEN-Plus clinic here.