In Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and other settings, CGHR is working actively with local governments to introduce high-impact, low-cost innovations that document the leading killers and outline solutions to reduce premature mortality. The Healthy Sierra Leone (HEAL-SL) project, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and Njala University samples about 5% of Sierra Leone’s population with regular surveys to understand who is born, who dies and from which cause. By systematically documenting avoidable deaths, HEAL-SL provide a “GPS” for rapid improvements in avoidable mortality. For example, HEAL-SL has documented the substantial death toll from malaria not only in children but among adults. This has spurred greater action on malaria, including new vaccine trials.
These studies are about counting the dead to help the living.
