Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre

Climate change is not hitting cities equally. It hits specific places—settlements where vulnerability already runs deep.

If Cities Could Speak works across 21 such settlements in India, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and South Africa. Four methods. Six partner organisations. One shared question about climate, health, and what communities on the frontline already know.

This is the project. We invite you to follow along as the work unfolds.
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Kounkuey Design Initiative Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre African Centre for Cities Institute of Development Studies International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS)

Beating the Heat: Sierra Leone Pilot Integrates Heat Stress into the National

Sierra Leone has taken a step forward integrating , especially into the national Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) system through the Urban SHADE project. Strengthened Health Service Delivery and Resilience in Informal Urban Spaces in the Context of Extreme Weather Events-SHADE project, jointly implemented by the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre, the Institute of Gender and Children's Health Research (IGCHR), the Centre of Dialogue on Human Settlement and Poverty Alleviationtion (CODOHSAPA), with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine - LSTM and the Geogia Institute (TGI) as the lead.

On 9th and 10th June, the three organizations convened a for Peripheral Health Unit (PHU) Staff from the three pilot communities in Freetown: Moyiba in the east; Susan’s Bay in central; and CKG (Crab Town, Kolleh Town, and Grey Bush) in the west. The workshop, facilitated by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the National Public Health Agency (National Public Health Agency (NPHA), aimed to help participants understand the Extreme Weather Event (EWE) -specific reporting forms for the IDSR.

“This is the first time we are integrating heat into the IDSR surveillance system,” said Tamba D. Ndanema, a Research Officer at the NPHA, during his presentation. He noted that the success of the pilot—and any national rollout, depends on the health staff commitments in the three pilot communities.

Heat is often called a “silent killer” because it rarely makes headlines. Yet with rising temperatures and deepening inequality, heat quietly degrades health and limits productivity. In informal settlements, where housing is already precarious, this adds a new layer of risk. While the prevalence of heat stress has been acknowledged, Ndanema added, “It had not been captured as part of national disease surveillance.”

During a two-day stakeholder engagement workshop held on 6–7 May 2026 in Freetown, the intervention phase of the Urban SHADE project - Strengthened Health Service Delivery and Resilience in Informal Urban Spaces in the Context of Extreme Weather Events - was presented. The project is implemented by the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre in partnership with the Centre of Dialogue on Human Settlement and Poverty Alleviation, the Institute of Gender and Children's Health Research, and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine - LSTM, which is the lead institution.

Sia Tengbeh, the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) officer of the project, explained the two keyindicators within the implementation phase focusing on (EWEs): Engagement and Coordination. Engagement specific indicators capture bi-directional dialogue, co-design, inclusivity, empowerment, ownership, and the development of long-term relationships in addressing EWEs. Coordination-specific indicators capture clear objectives, defined roles, and clear communication.

According to Sia, 'Engagement' is very important for any project to succeed. It facilitates a dialogue as a two-way communication which also builds trust among stakeholders. Engagement also brings representation from different community groups, ensuring inclusivity and fostering ownership.

'Coordination', on the other hand, is about how well a group is organised to carry out an activity. For instance, if there is a fire outbreak, coordination determines how effectively people organise themselves in an orderly manner without causing injury or harm to anyone. To achieve coordination, therefore, it is necessary to set clear objectives, define roles and responsibilities, and ensure clear communication, which avoids duplication and brings effectiveness.


Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine - LSTM Freetown City Council
Environment Protection Agency Sierra Leone Centre of Dialogue on Human Settlement and Poverty Alleviation

"The Floods Keep Pulling Me Back Under” – Amina’s Tales of Poverty and Entrapment at Colbot, Eastern Freetown

The into Colbot
Amina's path to Colbot reflects the constant struggle of navigating informal settlements to find a place to call home, to be safe and secure.

From to
The physical environment of the Colbot community feels like a trap, accumulating health and environmental hazards that leave residents with nowhere to turn. The settlement is a narrow stretch of land caught between two relentless stressors. First is the proximity to the seafront, where intermittent high tides push water inward — flooding homes, particularly during the heavy rains. Second is the presence of one of Freetown's largest landfills, known locally as "Bomeh." Bomeh receives tons of solid waste daily from across the city. As these piles of rubble grow, they frequently tumble down and block nearby drainage channels, causing entire neighbourhoods to submerge. The result is constant infrastructure damage and the displacement of families. Stagnant water left behind by these floods increases the risk of vector-borne diseases like malaria and typhoid, alongside waterborne illnesses such as diarrhoea and cholera.

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International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
Freetown City Council
Environment Protection Agency Sierra Leone
Institute of Development Studies

From Forecast to Action: Co-Designing Extreme Weather Events Communication protocols with Freetown’s

As part of the ongoing Urban SHADE (Strengthened Health Service Delivery and Resilience in Informal Urban Spaces in the Context of Extreme Weather Events), on 14 May 2026, convened a one day workshop by the Institute of Gender and Children's Health Research (IGCHR), the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre, and the Centre of Dialogue on Human Settlement and Poverty Alleviation (CODOHSAPA).

The event brought together Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, including the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoH), Sierra Leone Meteorological Agency (SL-Met), National Public Health Agency (NPHA), National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), and the National Fire Force - alongside researchers, co-researchers, Community Disaster Management Committees (CDMCs), Peripheral Health Unit (PHU) staff, and community stakeholders. Participants represented three informal settlements Moyiba (a hillside settlement in eastern Freetown), Susan's Bay, and CKG (Crab Town, Kolleh Town & Grey Bush), both informal coastal settlements in west-central Freetown.

focus
The workshop focused on two interlinked goals: co-designing communication protocols and guidelines for Extreme Weather Events (EWEs), and building local capacity to interpret and communicate weather data. The efforts aim to strengthen preparedness, and respond effectively to EWEs under changing climatic conditions.

Co-design of response and
The workshop employed highly inclusive methods, including slide presentations, group work and participatory exercises, plenary discussions, and interactive sessions.

Capacity development on and
SL-Met delivered three presentations:
➡️2026 Rainy Seasonal Outlook for Sierra Leone
➡️Strengthening Health Sector Resilience through Effective Weather and Climate Information Dissemination
➡️Understanding Weather Forecasts in Communities

Risk Communication and
The sessions led by the MoH and NPHA emphasised: audience analysis, objective setting, key message formulation, channel identification, pre-testing, validation, dissemination, monitoring, and evaluation, message utilisation and rumour management particularly in the context of growing digital media.

Testing through
To assess preparedness , participants engaged in two scenario-based exercises: extreme heat and extreme rainfall. The groups worked collaboratively, presented their ideas and received clarifications and commendations during plenary.
The co-design activity demonstrated active engagement and laid a strong foundation for co-owned communication protocols.


By convening meteorological, health, disaster agencies alongside vulnerable hillside and coastal communities, the Urban SHADES Project is advancing a replicable model for participatory climate adaptation. Co-design communication protocols for EWEs build both immediate response capacity and long-term resilience in a rapidly changing climate.

“A communication protocol does not add bureaucracy. It removes improvisation at the moment when improvisation is most dangerous.” – Dr. Desta Ali, IGCHR

Freetown City Council Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine - LSTM
Environment Protection Agency Sierra Leone

IDRC Impressed with Rollout of Urban TRACS Project in Sierra Leone, Expresses High Hope for Scale-Up

Michele Leone of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has praised the progress of the Urban TRACS project in Sierra Leone, expressing strong optimism that the initiative, designed to build climate-resilience housing in informal settlements, has the potential to move beyond its pilot phase.

On 28 April, Michele from the IDRC, which co-funds the CLARE programme alongside the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, paid a one‑day working visit to the three research institutions implementing the Urban TRACS project in Sierra Leone: the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre (SLURC), the Institute of Gender and Children's Health Research (IGCHR), and the Centre of Dialogue on Human Settlement and Poverty Alleviation (CODOHSAPA).

The visit included a meeting with the three organisations at the SLURC office (17a Hill Cot Road, Freetown) and a field visit to Susan’s Bay, one of the project’s focal informal communities. The project is being implemented in three locations: Moyiba, a hillside community in eastern Freetown; Susan’s Bay; and CKG (Crab Town, Kolleh Town & Grey Bush), both informal coastal communities in west-central Freetown.

Donor Encourages Communities to Envision Scale-Up
The visiting IDRC officer was impressed with the project’s progress and optimistic about its future. During the field visit, he asked community members directly: “Do you want to see the project moving forward beyond the pilot phase?” He further inquired if a scale-up were to occur, which other intervention they would like to see the next phase of project funding directed to.

Communities’ Intervention Priorities: Housing as Climate Resilience
Speaking on behalf of their communities, representatives articulated the need to continue the housing upgrades, which directly address climate vulnerabilities and housing insecurity for informal residents in Freetown:
Moyiba
“We need an extension of the resilience housing initiative to enable more vulnerable people to access decent housing. It also provides local builders with jobs during and after the implementation phase.”
CKG
“If you could enter one of our dwellings to see first hand the extent of suffering residents face, tears would nearly run from your eyes. During the rains, roofs leak; in the dry season, extreme heat. The suffering is abysmal. Providing decent housing will alleviate our suffering. With the adoption of the housing model, builders will secure regular jobs through replication of the model.”
Susan’s Bay

“Susan’s Bay has a poor drainage system, contributing to regular flash floods. The construction of a retaining wall at Nicole Creek is a dire need for the community.”

Researcher’s Perspective: Urban Inequality and Housing Priorities
In his opening statement, Samuel Saidu, Senior Researcher from IGCHR provided an update on project interventions and offered a contextual analysis of housing in urban informal settlements.
“Urban inequality is really high in Freetown. The poor, who cannot afford formal housing, shift to informal settlements. They inhabit different types of housing depending on homeowners’ earnings and the typography of the area—coastal, as in Susan’s Bay and CKG, or hillside, as in Moyiba. Housing materials used include plastic/tarpaulin, mud, zinc, and cement,” he said.

Samuel explained that the research team conducted extensive community engagement to understand their priorities for intervention. “A lot of interventions were proposed. However, after ranking them together with the communities, housing stood out strongly as the top priority for informal residents,” he noted. He added that housing upgrades are currently being piloted in three of over 70 Freetown’s informal settlements.

Pathways for Policy and Partnership
Joseph Macarthy, the Executive Director of SLURC emphasised that housing upgrades offer significant opportunities to improve housing infrastructure in informal settlements. He also noted a strong desire for collaboration with policymakers, and for continued partnership between the university, researchers, co-researchers, and the communities' residents.

As climate-driven risks such as flooding, heat stress, and storm surges intensify in coastal and hillside informal settlements, the Urban TRACS project offers a replicable model for building resilience using the bottom-up approach rooted in local voices, participatory research, and scalable housing solutions in Freetown.

CLARE is a flagship research programme on climate adaptation and resilience, funded mostly (about 90%) by UK Aid through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and co-funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. CLARE bridges critical gaps between science and action by championing Southern leadership to enable socially inclusive and sustainable action to build resilience to climate change and natural hazards.

Freetown City Council Environment Protection Agency Sierra Leone

UK in Sierra Leone Centre of Dialogue on Human Settlement and Poverty Alleviation Institute of Gender and Children's Health Research

From Sand Miner to Mangrove Planter. One man's to the Freetown shoreline.

"It will take time, but it will be worth it."
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International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
Freetown City Council
Environment Protection Agency Sierra Leone
Centre of Dialogue on Human Settlement and Poverty Alleviation
Institute of Development Studies
Institute of Gender and Children's Health Research