Current Projects
ReBUILD for Resilience expands upon the successes of the prior ReBUILD project by further supporting the process of strengthening health systems in Sierra Leone. It provides crucial evidence for translating research into action and collaborates closely with stakeholders to develop sustainable, gender-sensitive, and inclusive solutions. The project is funded by the UK government. ReBUILD focusses on Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Nepal, Myanmar and UK and runs till March 2026.
BRAC project: IfD is working with BRAC as it learning partner on the ‘Accelerating Impact for Young Women’ (AIM) program in Sierra Leone. The program aims to empower adolescent girls and young women by providing them with age-appropriate entrepreneurship, employability and life-skills training along with the tools needed to start and grow their own businesses. The initiative aims to drive positive change, identify opportunities for improvement and contribute to the broader understanding of youth empowerment and poverty alleviation in Africa.
Foundations is a six-year multi-country gender transformative project that aims to enhance the empowerment of adolescent girls in Sierra Leone, Mali and Niger to exercise their adolescent sexual reproductive health rights. IfD works with ODI on the monitoring and evaluation of the programme through a longitudinal study.
The “After the End“ project, under the leadership of Dr. Patricia Kingori and hosted by the University of Oxford, is a Welcome funded 96-month research initiative, that started October 2023.
This interdisciplinary research aims to explore the lived experiences and aftermaths of diseases, disasters, and drugs in global health, particularly focusing on how official declarations of an end to crises impact those left behind and the ongoing social obligations of global health institutions.
After the End focuses on Sierra Leone, Brazil and Myanmar.
Align is an initiative by the ODI that focuses on identifying and addressing the influence of key actors who restrict gender equality. A primary focus of this programme is on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), an area significantly shaped by these actors. The study led by the Institute for Development (IfD), concentrates on the impact of Muslim religious leaders on CSE. This research builds on previous studies, such as the one conducted by Yillah et al. (2023), which examined the perspectives of religious leaders on sexual and reproductive health.
ACRC: The Kush Transition Fund, led by the African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC) Freetown team, aims to address the Kush crisis and its related challenges among the youth in Freetown. The project will support a reform coalition at community level, engaging key stakeholders such as government representatives, community leaders and youth organisations. It seeks to empower the youth – an area ACRC aims to strengthen to help Freetown achieve its potential. This represents one of ACRC’s priority complex problems (PCPs), which are issues or processes that hinder cities’ progress economically and/or environmentally. The goal is to develop sustainable solutions that address both substance abuse treatment and the underlying social, economic and environmental factors driving the crisis.
Beyond Borders is an IfD webinar series designed to equip aspiring Sierra Leonean and other aspiring scholars with the practical knowledge needed to win scholarships abroad.
The series features a diverse panel of Sierra Leoneans who have either studied or are currently studying abroad on scholarships. The webinar covers key topics, including
- General scholarship information
- The Application Process
- Finances
- Logistics
To ensure the series is relatable and accessible to Sierra Leoneans, the webinar is delivered primarily in Krio, with English subtitles provided for a broader audience.
For those who prefer a text-based resource, English scripts of the webinar episodes are also available here for easy reference.
Secondary School Improvement Project 2 (SSEIP2) known locally Leh Wi Lan is a five-year UK aid-funded programme that started in April 2023. It supports the Ministry of Basic and Secondary School Education in Sierra Leone to achieve sustained improvement in secondary grade learning outcomes, particularly for girls and children with disabilities. The programme focuses on making schools safe for girls, improving learning conditions in classes for both genders, strengthening central and district capacity and improving monitoring and evaluation. Read the Leh wi Lan research report.