By Daily Scope Reporter, D.S
FREETOWN — Cabinet Ministers of Sierra Leone have engaged professors and researchers at Harvard University to forge new partnerships aimed at improving service delivery and accelerating national development.
The roundtable engagement, held on September 29, 2026, was facilitated by Ms. Zoe Marks, Oppenheimer Faculty Director of the Center for African Studies at Harvard University.
Leading the Sierra Leone delegation, Chief Minister Hon. Dr. David Moinina Sengeh and three other cabinet ministers appealed for sustained collaboration with Harvard in key priority sectors.
According to the Chief Minister, the Government of Sierra Leone is keen to collaborate in public health, climate change, digital education, energy and investment, Artificial Intelligence, technology and public-private partnerships. He encouraged Harvard researchers to continue working with Sierra Leone to help government deliver on its goals, noting that the administration looks forward to deepening the partnership.
Foreign Minister Hon. Mohamed Rahman Swarray said there is need for training in negotiation skills amid growing demand for critical minerals agreements, and for professionalizing the Sierra Leone Foreign Service. He disclosed that the country is set to improve health insurance and introduce a policy on volunteerism for national service, and appealed to Harvard professors and researchers for partnership opportunities to deliver on President Bio’s transformational agenda.
Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Hon. Haja Ramatulai Wurie, said there is a serious need to close existing gaps in the education sector. She stressed the need for strong capacity building, particularly in identifying gaps in the medical school, adding that research and collaboration will strengthen the education system. She said skills development for young people, entrepreneurship and creating platforms for students remain a premium.
Minister of Communication, Technology and Innovation, Hon. Salima Bah, said her Ministry relates to some of the problems Harvard researchers seek to solve, such as access and availability, noting that digital utilization remains low in Sierra Leone.
She expressed hope for capacity building and for mitigating the impacts of cultural norms, adding that her Ministry is focused on building a digital economy and improving tax collection, especially from telecommunications companies. She cited challenges of affordability, energy supply and tax policies, and called for more sustainable tax collection methods. Minister Bah emphasized the need for a national AI strategy, evidence-based data and regional conversations on idea sharing, noting that data is critical to the wider infrastructure framework.
Harvard professors and researchers have worked extensively with partners in Sierra Leone, including research analysis on Mpox with concrete data and critical results in the health sector.
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