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Freetown, Sierra Leone – June 9, 2025. As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen procurement systems and enhance transparency and accountability within Sierra Leone’s public health sector, the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA) hosted a high-level engagement with the Senior Manager, Portfolio Financial Management from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) under the framework of the Programmatic Procurement Management (PPM) mission.
The meeting, held at NPPA’s headquarters, was called to order by the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Fodie J. Konneh who reaffirmed the Authority’s unwavering commitment to maintaining value for money and fiduciary integrity in public procurement. He emphasized that contract award is just one element of the procurement cycle, with contract monitoring and compliance management playing equally critical roles in ensuring service delivery reaches the intended beneficiaries.
The CEO acknowledged GAVI’s longstanding support in the health sector and welcomed the renewed technical cooperation between the parties. Notably, NPPA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Audit Service Sierra Leone to carry out joint procurement audits and monitoring exercises. These will be implemented in close collaboration with other oversight institutions to uphold transparency and accountability standards across the public procurement landscape.
The GAVI mission representative, Mr. Edgar Beyaraaza, expressed GAVI’s readiness to collaborate with Sierra Leonean institutions, including NPPA, through four key pillars—chief among them being country procurement systems strengthening. He emphasized that GAVI is keen to work with government agencies to reinforce country systems rather than operate parallel structures, a challenge often seen in previous donor-led programs.
The meeting also addressed the need to improve synergy with development partners such as the Global Fund. Discussions underscored the importance of integrating donor-funded procurement processes within Sierra Leone’s national systems, particularly through platforms such as the Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system. The e-GP platform provides multiple benefits including enhanced transparency, improved efficiency, full auditability, and cost-effectiveness. It ensures procurement processes are open, automated, and competitive—leading to better pricing, reduced administrative delays, and stronger public confidence.
The NPPA CEO stressed that the Authority remains committed to providing technical leadership and facilitating capacity-building support to ensure partners like GAVI can align their interventions with existing national frameworks. He further noted that NPPA has already been providing technical assistance to both the Global Fund and the Integrated Health Projects Administration Unit (IHPAU), and expressed the Authority’s willingness to deepen this collaboration in the interest of effective health sector delivery.
The session concluded with consensus on the need for enhanced collaboration, backed by a shared understanding of the critical role procurement plays in achieving health sector outcomes.
All consolidated feedback and recommendations from the engagement are to be coordinated through IHPAU. A follow-up meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 10, 2025, ahead of the departure of the GAVI representative. As Sierra Leone continues to build resilient health systems, strategic partnerships like these remain essential in ensuring that every leone spent contributes directly to saving lives and building national capacity.
