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Globally, over 13% of children and adolescents are affected by mental disorders, yet relatively little scholarship addresses how risk factors, symptoms, and nosology vary by culture and context, especially in young children living in post-conflict and low-resource settings. To address this gap, we conducted a qualitative study to identify and describe the most salient mental health problems facing children aged 6 to 10 years in Sierra Leone, as well as the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to these problems. Free list interviews (N = 200) and semi-structured interviews (N = 66) were conducted among caregivers, children, and other relevant key informants to explore risk factors and locally meaningful concepts of distress. Our findings indicate that children are faced with a variety of challenges in their social environments that contribute to distress, including hunger, unmet material needs, and excessive work. Our research identifies five contextually defined mental health problems faced by young children: gbos gbos (angry, destructive behavior), poil at (sad, disruptive behavior), diskoraj (sad, withdrawn), wondri (excessive worry), and fred fred (abnormal fear). The manifestations of these distress concepts are described in detail and contextualized according to Sierra Leone's history of war and current backdrop of poverty and insecurity. Implications are discussed for locally relevant diagnosis and treatment as well as for the wider literature on global child mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ebola virus disease, formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a severe and often fatal zoonosis in humans. The 2013– 2016 West African Ebola outbreak had distinctive characteristics, and it was the largest and most complex epidemic since the virus discovery in 1976. Although the 2018– 2020 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had many similarities, there were additional challenges due to the presence of armed rebel groups at the epicenters of the epidemic. Despite these challenges, the extraordinary commitment of the World Health Organization (WHO) regional office for Africa, in collaboration with Africa Union (AU) member states through the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and WHO's prompt declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) shepherded an effective coordinated response to contain the epidemic. Learning from previous Ebola virus epidemics and the current Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the AU member states should strengthen inter-state coordination towards the development and implementation of a preparedness and readiness plan which will enable the continent to build and sustain resilient capacities to prevent, detect, and respond to future outbreaks following the International Health Regulations (IHR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a case series of 35 Ebola virus disease (EVD) survivors during the epidemic in West Africa who had neurologic and accompanying psychiatric sequelae. Survivors meeting neurologic criteria were invited from a cohort of 361 EVD survivors to attend a preliminary clinic. Those whose severe neurologic features were documented in the preliminary clinic were referred for specialist neurologic evaluation, ophthalmologic examination, and psychiatric assessment. Of 35 survivors with neurologic sequelae, 13 had migraine headache, 2 stroke, 2 peripheral sensory neuropathy, and 2 peripheral nerve lesions. Of brain computed tomography scans of 17 patients, 3 showed cerebral and/or cerebellar atrophy and 2 confirmed strokes. Sixteen patients required mental health followup; psychiatric disorders were diagnosed in 5. The 10 patients who experienced greatest disability had co-existing physical and mental health conditions. EVD survivors may have ongoing central and peripheral nervous system disorders, including previously unrecognized migraine headaches and stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sierra Leone is a West African country with a population of just over 7 million. Many Sierra Leoneans lived through the psychologically distressing events of the civil war (1991–2002), the 2014 Ebola outbreak and frequent floods. Traditionally, mental health services have been delivered at the oldest mental health hospital in sub-Saharan Africa, with no services available anywhere else in the country. Mental illness remains highly stigmatised. Recent advances include revision of the Mental Health Policy and Strategic Plan and the strengthening of mental health governance and district services. Many challenges lie ahead, with the crucial next steps including securing a national budget line for mental health, reviewing mental health legislation, systematising training of mental health specialists and prioritising the procurement of psychotropic medications. National and international commitment must be made to reduce the treatment gap and provide quality care for people with mental illness in Sierra Leone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Previous research suggests that adult survivors of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) experience mental health problems following their infection. This study examines long-term mental health consequences of EVD for child survivors, and those affected by EVD but not themselves infected, compared to controls. This study also examines the mediating effects of caregiver mental health on children's mental health outcomes., Method: Using a case-control study design, we recruited 663 children (aged 10-17) and their caregivers at two time points, from six geographically diverse districts in Sierra Leone. Our analytic sample included n=217 EVD-infected children, n=206 EVD-affected children (i.e. children who were not themselves infected but someone in their household was infected), n=230 control children, and one caregiver per child (N=653). Using a Structural Equation Model, we examined the mediating effects of caregiver anxiety and depression at Time 1 on the relationship between study condition and children's prosocial behaviors and behavioral difficulties at Time 2, controlling for child's age, gender, household wealth, urban vs. rural, and district., Results: EVD-infected and -affected children were more likely to demonstrate behavioral difficulties compared to controls. Caregiver depression mediated the relationship between being affected by EVD and children's behavioral problems. Caregiver anxiety mediated the relationship between being EVD-affected and children's prosocial behaviors., Conclusion: The mental health consequences of EVD are long-lasting for EVD child survivors and those affected, as well as caregivers. Policy and programmatic responses need to account for the heightened vulnerability introduced not just to survivors after an infectious disease outbreak, but to their families and household members., (Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Introduction: Infectious disease surveillance has long been a challenge for low-income countries like Sierra Leone. Traditional approaches based on paper and Short Message Service (SMS) were subject to severe delays in obtaining, transmitting, and analyzing information., Methods: During the China aid operation for fighting Ebola since the end of 2014, a mobile electronic surveillance system for infectious diseases (MESSID) was developed in collaboration with the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF), which comprised an Android-based reporting system and a complementary web-based program designed by Active Server Page.NET (ASP.NET) with the main functions including surveillance, real-time reporting, and risk assessment of infectious diseases., Results: MESSID was successfully registered in June 2016 and had been used by all medical and health institutions in RSLAF. From June 1, 2016 to July 5, 2021, 34,419 cases were diagnosed with 47 infectious diseases of 5 categories, with a total of 42 clinical symptoms. Compared to traditional approaches based on paper and SMS, the MESSID showed flexibility, high efficiency, convenience, and acceptability., Discussion: MESSID is an accessible tool for surveillance of infectious diseases in Sierra Leone and possibly in other African countries with similar needs, capable of improving timeliness of disease reporting, thus rendering a timely outbreak detection and response., (Copyright and License information: Editorial Office of CCDCW, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2021.)