Responding to an mpox outbreak in the heart of Sierra Leone
July 8, 2025
As mpox continues to surge across Sierra Leone, MSF is leading a critical response effort in high-burden districts like Freetown, Bombali, and Kenema. With over 4,000 confirmed cases, stigma, misinformation, and delayed care are fueling preventable suffering, especially for those with painful, advanced disease. MSF’s work—rehabilitating isolation wards, training health workers, supporting psychosocial care, and building diagnostic capacity—is helping restore public trust and improve treatment outcomes. But with every delay, the virus spreads further. The international community must prioritize sustained support for local responders who are battling not only a virus, but also fear, stigma, and resource constraints.
Sierra Leone is battling its most severe mpox outbreak to date, with over 4,000 cases and all districts affected since the outbreak began in January 2025. The epicenter—Freetown and surrounding urban areas—is now the focus of a broadening medical response by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which has rapidly scaled operations across the capital and northern and eastern provinces. MSF’s response highlights the grim reality on the ground: many patients delay care due to stigma and misinformation, often confusing mpox with chickenpox or relying on traditional remedies like clay and herbs.
Mpox causes visible, painful lesions, especially in severe cases. According to MSF medical staff, some patients arrive disoriented and fearful, unable to sit or lie down due to painful pustules covering large parts of their bodies—including the genitals. A lack of awareness and fear of community rejection compound these medical challenges. In response, MSF has implemented psychosocial counseling alongside clinical care, helping patients regain trust and hope in recovery.
To bolster health system readiness, MSF has rehabilitated isolation wards, set up a 50-bed treatment center in Freetown’s Calaba Town, supported facilities in Bombali and Tonkolili districts, and strengthened lab infrastructure by donating a generator to the Central Public Health Reference Laboratory. Their teams are also working with the Ministry of Health on training, case identification, sample transport, and health promotion.
Despite the government’s efforts to expand vaccination and improve public awareness, fear and stigma remain formidable barriers. The burden on healthcare workers—many of whom are providing infectious disease care for the first time—is immense.
MSF’s work underscores the urgent need for continued international technical, financial, and logistical support. Combating this outbreak requires not just medicine, but trust-building, infrastructure, and respect for communities navigating both a disease and a crisis of confidence.