China South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund provides $2 million grant for Sierra Leone Maternal Health and Cervical Cancer Prevention Project

Project narrative

On October 29, 2018, Deng Boquing, Vice-Chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), signed an agreement on the Sierra Leone Maternal Health and Cervical Cancer Prevention Project in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health. The Chinese Government committed $2 million to support the project. Dereje Wordofa, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), was present at the signing of the agreement. The project, which was originally scheduled to be implemented over 45 months (January 1, 2020 to September 30, 2023) in the Western Province of Sierra Leone, seeks to improve obstetric care services and cervical cancer screening and treatment in Sierra Leone. The project also seeks to support the provision of strong medical services for the prevention, screening and treatment of cervical cancer. As part of the implementation of the project, UNFPA and the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation expected to partner with Hunan Maternal and Child Health Hospital to improve the quality of emergency obstetric care services for women with high-risk pregnancies. The United Nations Population Fund and Hunan Maternal and Child Health Hospital also expected to provide technical support for the implementation of the project and promote the exchange of experts in related fields within the framework of the Sierra Leone National Health Strategy and the current national cooperation mechanism. From January 26 to February 2, 2019, a Chinese delegation led by UNFPA met with the UNFPA Office in Sierra Leone, senior government officials, NGO representatives, journalists, the Chinese embassy and medical team from Hunan province of China to assess the maternal and child health situations there for the implementation of the Sierra Leone Maternal Health and Cervical Cancer Prevention Project . Then, on January 28, 2019, the China South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund's tripartite cooperation meeting on the Sierra Leone Maternal Health and Cervical Cancer Prevention Project was held at the Ministry of Health of Sierra Leone . At the time, the parties involved (including representatives from UNFPA, the Ministry of Health of Sierra Leone, National Health Commission of China, the Hunan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Hospital, and the Chinese Medical Team for Sierra Leone) discussed the planned implementation stages of the project. Then, in March 2021, UNFPA reaffirmed its commitment to carry out the project. The $2 million grant commitment from the Chinese Government was earmarked for UNFPA training on cervical cancer screening. The training has targeted fifty health providers drawn from the Directorate of Reproductive Health of the MOHS, five major hospitals and four community health centers. The first training was slated to take place between April 19-28 2020 as a Training of Trainers (TOT) initiative -- so as to get a core cadre of trainers to cascade trainings down to more providers to improve access to cervical cancer screening and treatment services . Since 2020, as of 2023, nine service points had been established throughout the country. Moreover, an official launching ceremony for the project was held on July 7, 2023 . The ceremony was jointly held by the Chinese Embassy and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The Sierra Leone Maternal Health and Cervical Cancer Prevention Project is funded through the China South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund. The fund was established after the 2015 Sustainable Development Summit, with the goal of strengthening exchanges and cooperation between developing countries and promoting the realization of sustainable development goals. According to the Government of Sierra Leone's Development Assistance Database (DAD), the $2 million grant commitment from the China South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund had achieved a 63.5% disbursement rate as of January 20, 2022 ($1,271,410 out of $2,000,000)