Dr. Sartie Kenneh is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health and Sanitation. As CMO, he acts as the principal medical advisor to the Sierra Leone government at both national and international levels. Dr Kenneh is also the professional head of all public health directors at the local government level and the medical profession in the country. At the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Dr Kenneh provides technical leadership to and supervises all deputy chief medical officers, directorates and programmes within the heath sector. Before his current appointment as CMO, Dr Kenneh was the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Public Health, in which role he provided overall strategic vision and direction for public health programmes in Sierra Leone.
Dr Kenneh is a highly accomplished medical and public health specialist with significant experience in strategic roles at the national level in Sierra Leone. He has served as the Surveillance Lead for the National COVID-19 Response taskforce and as Director of Reproductive and Child Health. As Director of Reproductive and Child Health, Dr Kenneh was instrumental in developing multiple successful projects, including the Quality Essential Health Services and Systems Support Project funded by the World Bank, Health Systems Strengthening funded by the Islamic Development Bank, and the Saving Lives project funded by FCDO. Dr Kenneh’s leadership and innovation were key to the success of these important initiatives. Additionally, in the aftermath of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, Dr. Kenneh played a crucial role in managing the response in Pujehun District. His success in Pujehun led to him coordinating similar efforts in Bo and Kenema Districts. These efforts ultimately contributed to the success of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation’s response in Port Loko District during ‘Operation Northern Push,’ which marked the end of the outbreak in the last two affected districts.
Dr. Kenneh is a highly respected technical medical and public health expert in Sierra Leone. Over the course of his career, he has served as a District Medical Officer (DMO) for 17 years, working in five districts including Freetown, Moyamba, Bonthe, Tonkolili and Port Loko. His leadership and competence were highly sought after by many medical and public health specialists, who valued his in-depth understanding of how to deliver person-cantered healthcare services to people within each district. Throughout his career as DMO, Dr. Kenneh played a critical role in educating the Sierra Leonean public on the prevention and management of various health conditions. He was instrumental in promoting disease prevention programs, including immunization campaigns, health fairs, and health talks, which contributed to improving the overall health status of the populations in the districts he served.
Dr. Kenneh’s contributions to the advancement of medical and public health services in Sierra Leone are a testament to his strong academic background. He holds a Bachelor of Medicine from Shanghai Second Medical University and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Ghana. Furthermore, Dr. Kenneh is a distinguished Fellow of the Sierra Leone Postgraduate College of Physicians and Surgeons, as well as a Fellow of the West African College of Physicians.