SLURC Wraps Up ARISE Urban Health Project with Key Dissemination Workshop

By George M.O. Williams

Freetown, Sierra Leone – The Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre (SLURC) successfully concluded its Accountability and Responsiveness in Informal Settlements for Equity (ARISE) project with a dissemination workshop held on Monday, September 30, 2024, at the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone (CCSL) conference hall. The event gathered key stakeholders, community representatives, and SLURC staff to review the project’s findings and impact.

The ARISE project, launched in 2019, aimed to improve health accountability and address the physical and mental health risks faced by residents of urban informal settlements, where access to essential services is severely limited. The initiative was implemented in collaboration with local and international partners, including the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS), the Institute of Gender and Children’s Health Research (IGCHR), and CODOHSAPA.

During the workshop, Dr. Joseph Macarthy, Executive Director of SLURC, reflected on the project’s origins, which stemmed from discussions with international colleagues in Liverpool, England, about common health challenges in underserved urban areas. Dr. Macarthy highlighted the project’s emphasis on community engagement, noting that local residents were actively involved as co-researchers in the data collection process.

Senior Researcher and Head of SLURC’s Urban Health Cluster, Abu Conteh, presented the project’s key findings, revealing significant health and sanitation issues in the targeted communities. He pointed out that many livelihoods, such as sand mining and stone breaking, posed serious health risks. Conteh also stressed the lack of adequate healthcare services, poor road networks, and the impact of flash floods, which exacerbate the living conditions of residents.

Community representatives shared their experiences and concerns, calling for better infrastructure and healthcare services to address the challenges they face. The workshop concluded with calls for the research findings to inform future policies and interventions aimed at improving health equity in informal urban settlements.

The ARISE project has brought much-needed attention to the health and governance issues in Sierra Leone’s informal settlements, with hopes that its work will lead to sustainable improvements in urban health.