F&D:
How specifically have technology and
innovation helped respond to the pandemic?
DS:
In a couple of ways—information dissemination for one. An app and mobile
phone solutions—text messaging—are available to our citizens to access and
share information, and for COVID testing and health self-assessment. An
online travel portal allows us to track passengers who’ve been tested. We
have a quarantine app to manage monitoring of service delivery to
quarantine facilities and homes, and we have been synchronizing the
districts’ health information systems. Our application programming
interfaces use the data we collect to build dashboards for decision makers.
During lockdowns, drones monitored and evaluated compliance with
stay-at-home orders. Anonymized call data records and surveys help us
understand the effects of government policies.
F&D:
Can you explain how your two
roles dovetail?
DS:
In my role as chief innovation officer I lead the DSTI, whose job is to
spur and coordinate innovation in government, and I advise the president on
technology and innovation across the board. Education is the government’s
flagship program. Some 22 percent of our budget is devoted to education.
Thirty percent of the population is receiving free public education. We
added 9 percent more students to the total in-school population between
2018 and 2020. The country’s 11,400 schools employ about 80,000 teachers. A
lot of the work we coordinate is school subsidies. We pay tuition for every
student in government and government-assisted school as well as exam fees
for all students. Providing effective and efficient education services
including learning materials and school meal programs requires data and
digitalization. So as the lead on basic education, it helps that I am also
chief innovation officer. The two roles are deeply intertwined and very
much priorities of the government.
The DSTI leads the national COVID emergency response center’s ICT and data
effort. I sit on the presidential task force for COVID. On the education
side, we set up an emergency education task force. Whether it’s education
or COVID, the messages are the same, and technology plays a critical role.
F&D:
Has the pandemic accelerated the education divide in Sierra Leone? What
steps are you taking to address a growing divide, especially as it
relates to girls and women?
DS:
In Sierra Leone we closed schools the day we recorded our first COVID-19
case; we then made plans to revamp our radio teaching program, which was
initially launched during the 2014 Ebola crisis. The radio teaching program
kick-started one week after schools closed. During the COVID-19
pandemic school closures we expanded and extended its reach to nearly all
districts by working with community radio stations and procuring new radio
transmitters. When schools finally reopened in July 2020 for examination
classes, we brought back over 450,000 students for in-class learning and
supported them via radio and online instruction. In many parts of the
country we provided physical materials and books along with teaching
support. Recently, we launched an SMS and USSD accessible dictionary. Many
people take dictionaries for granted, but not everyone here has access to
one. Some 87 percent of our people, however, do have mobile connectivity.
The pandemic has made us think about how to be more inclusive in our
provision of services. We have a policy called radical inclusion, which
means that we will ensure that every child—regardless of family origin,
location, gender, or disability—is educated. To that point, we overturned a
ban on pregnant girls going to school. We saw during Ebola there were a lot
of girls who got pregnant and were excluded from school. We didn’t want to
leave those girls out of school again this time.
F&D:
Every crisis is also an opportunity. How has this crisis spurred
positive change in health care, social support, education, or other
areas?
DS:
As a government we have expanded and revamped our social welfare base.
During the pandemic, we’ve provided lots of direct support—cash—to women in
particular, including direct cash transfers in various informal sectors.
And the support is ongoing.
People with disabilities and vulnerable groups are getting new
consideration and are being taken into account. Within the health care
system, we have published information and expanded ways that facilities can
make more beds available. A new travel portal system is in place at
airports and borders. Under our epidemic control system, we can connect
with people entering the country by air and land. These are all investments
in a more robust health system.
F&D:
What lessons from this pandemic have been most important for you as a
policymaker?
As a father?
DS:
When we build solutions in normal times, we’re not usually leading with
inclusion. We’re not thinking about everyone. But in an emergency,
solutions must include all people, because everyone is vulnerable. The key
lesson is that solutions should work for everyone, not just in emergencies.
I think that’s really important.
We haven’t always considered the labor and the loss of time that
stay-at-home parents face when juggling childcare and other
responsibilities. This period has helped us see that, and as a father, I
have newfound appreciation for them.
F&D:
You are a prolific musician with a recently released album. What
inspires you, and what do you hope to convey?
DS:
The album is called Love Notes to Salone. I think it’s really
about my love for Salone [the Krio word for Sierra Leone] and public
service. I listen to a lot of music, which inspires me, and I hope to
inspire others as well. It’s music written for young people, for people who
must have hope. “Dear Salone” is how it opens—the song is a love letter to
Sierra Leone that talks about the country’s history and its future. It also
talks about the love and power of young people. The song helps us think
about our power in a really nice way.
