The Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, has launched Sierra Leone’s health travel portal at the Lungi International Airport. This new digital platform is designed to improve border health security, disease surveillance and potential public health outbreak amid rising concerns of the Ebola virus outbreak in the DRC. This centralized system leverages on use of technology to verify health information and travel documents for passengers travelling to and from Sierra Leone. Through its seamless screening process, it is hoped that the portal will help strengthen efficiency at the country’s border entry points as well as improve on travel experience for passengers by bringing them up-to-speed with the latest health documentation required to visit or leave Sierra Leone.
Describing the significance of this initiative, the Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, said that the Government remains committed to ensuring the health and safety of its people. That is why, he said, visitors and citizens alike are now required to electronically submit travel history and documentation seventy-two hours before leaving or entering the country. Dr. Demby praised the initiative, describing it as an innovative milestone that positions Sierra Leone to effectively suspect and decisively respond to any public health emergency.
He said, “Our experience with public health outbreaks has taught us to never again allow ourselves to be caught off guard.”
According to Dr. Demby, the portal is much more than a travel management tool, “it is a public health tool that gives us the capacity to anticipate, detect and respond to any health threat.” Minister Demby reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to safeguarding the health of its people, adding that the travel portal is a significant contribution to that effect. As we do this, Dr. Demby said, “we want to be sure that travel in and out of Sierra Leone remains safe, seamless, convenient, and highly efficient for all passengers.”
On his part, the Executive Director of the National Public Health Agency, Professor Foday Sahr, expressed excitement about the launch calling it “a strategic investment in public health infrastructure.” Professor Sahr assured of the platform’s safety and security features. “It is designed with security safeguards to protect the safety of travelers’ information. All information gathered on this platform are only used for public health purposes and the system is designed to ensure strict confidentiality,” Professor Foday Sahr concludes.
