Pandemic preparedness: Learning from the successes and failures in transdisciplinary working in Sierra Leone

This project will focus on how transdisciplinarity has been integrated across the existing pandemic/epidemic preparedness and response architectures in Sierra Leone. In this country, the burden of disease is characterised by a combination of persistent, emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases and they recently experienced both the West African Ebola outbreak (2014-2016) and the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2023). Research has shown that communities acted innovatively to lower disease spread and local and integrated responses have an important role to play where strong health systems do not exist, and community resilience and knowledge is a key resource (Richards 2016). Through interviews, focus groups and participatory workshops we will study how institutions and stakeholders have worked together in a transdisciplinary approach to provide treatment and reduce disease spread. We will also learn about the barriers impeding this approach, and what inputs might help to reduce these.

Research Team: Dr Syed Shahid Abbas, Institute of Development Studies; Dr Esther Mokuwa, Njala University