January 15, 2026
SRHIN Engages with Sierra Leone Minister and Ministry of Education to Strengthen School-Based Substance Use Prevention
- Peace Oregbesan and Promise Taiwo
Slum and Rural Health Initiative
In a major step toward securing the long-term sustainability and national scale-up of the Brave Heart Project, the Slum and Rural Health Initiative Network in Sierra Leone held a high-level policy engagement with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE). This engagement marks a significant achievement in positioning evidence-based responses to substance use among school-aged youths within national education systems.
The engagement took place on Thursday, 4 December 2025, at the Ministry’s headquarters in New England Ville, Freetown. The Brave Heart Project Team led the meeting and was honored by the participation of the Honourable Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Mr. Conrad Sackey. The engagement marked a significant step toward aligning community-driven public health interventions with national education priorities.
Advancing Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Prevention in Schools
During the meeting, we presented our mission and ongoing work of the organisation, highlighting our focus on public health interventions in underserved urban and rural communities. We also provided a comprehensive implementation update on the Brave Heart Project, as a research-driven intervention preventing substance use disorders among young people.
Updates covered ongoing activities across intervention and control communities and schools, including:
- School-based behavioural prevention sessions
- Community-based behavioural prevention sessions
- Task-shifting models that empower trained teachers and community leaders as Community Mental Health Therapists (CMHTs)
- Large-scale baseline and endline data collection exercises
During the briefing, implementation sites were highlighted, including forty (40) selected secondary schools and four (4) communities across the Western Area District in Freetown. These sites demonstrate steady implementation progress and strong collaboration with schools and community stakeholders.
Evidence-Based Curriculum and Teacher Training in 20 Schools
The Minister was further briefed on the project’s structured interventions across twenty participating schools, including the completion of teacher training, the delivery of the Brave Heart Curriculum, and progress on both baseline and endline assessments.
Discussions acknowledged the growing concern around substance use within school environments and underscored the importance of early prevention, student welfare safeguards, and youth-friendly engagement strategies. We also highlighted our use of task-shifting approaches, which equip young people with the skills to deliver peer-based prevention and mental health support at the community level.
Ministerial Recommendations to Enhance Youth Engagement
In response, the Honourable Minister emphasized the importance of practical, relatable, and realistic approaches to substance-use prevention. He proposed:
- The inclusion of testimonies from individuals with lived experience of substance use
- Medically guided educational demonstrations to improve students’ understanding of harmful substances
The Minister noted that such approaches could strengthen the impact of school-based sensitization efforts while maintaining ethical and safeguarding standards.
Importantly, he recognized the strong research foundation of the Brave Heart Project and expressed interest in aligning its evidence-based tools with broader national education and student-welfare strategies.
Pathway to Policy Integration and National Scale-Up
The engagement resulted in several strategic commitments that signal growing institutional support for the Brave Heart Project. The Minister expressed explicit willingness to consider the integration of components of the Brave Heart Curriculum into the national school curriculum, opening a pathway for sustained, nationwide implementation.
Additionally, discussions explored potential collaboration on forthcoming national school drug-testing initiatives, with an emphasis on early identification, prevention, referral systems, and student protection.
Strengthening Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation
Beyond policy alignment, the Minister committed to supporting donor engagement and resource mobilisation efforts aimed at expanding the Brave Heart Project into additional schools and districts across Sierra Leone. This commitment reinforces the project’s potential for scale and long-term sustainability.
A Strategic Milestone for Youth Mental Health in Sierra Leone
The meeting concluded on a positive and forward-looking note, reinforcing shared priorities around youth mental health, substance-use prevention, and evidence-informed education reform. For SRHIN, the engagement reaffirmed the national relevance of the Brave Heart Project and created new avenues for collaboration, policy influence, and impact at scale.
As the Brave Heart Project continues to generate robust data and implementation evidence, this partnership with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education offers a critical opportunity to translate research into sustainable, nationwide solutions for youth mental health and wellbeing in Sierra Leone.