University of Makeni

Last updated
University of Makeni
Type Private
EstablishedOctober 8, 2005 [1]
AffiliationCatholic Diocese of Makeni
President Bishop Natalio
Location
Makeni
,
Sierra Leone

8°53′15″N12°03′22″W / 8.8874°N 12.0561°W / 8.8874; -12.0561
CampusUrban
Website www.unimak.edu.sl

University of Makeni (formerly known as the Fatima Institute and often known as UNIMAK) is the first private, Catholic, university located in Makeni, Sierra Leone.

Contents

History

It was founded as the Fatima Institute on October 8, 2005, by the Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Makeni led by Reverend George Biguzzi (born 1936, Italy). [1] In August 2009, it was granted university status and took its present name. Owned by the Diocese of Makeni, and the Bishop of Makeni is the university chancellor.

In 2011, along with City of Rest and the Community Association for Psychosocial Services (CAPS), UNIMAK became a founding member of the Mental Health Coalition (MHC) of Sierra Leone. Specializing in mental health service provision, academia, and advocacy, the consortium of organizations has been at the forefront of calls for reform of the mental health sector in Sierra Leone. [2]

Ebola restrictions forced a temporary closure of the University of Makeni between 2014 and 2016. [3]

In 2018, UNIMAK created an additional campus in the Koinadugu District of Sierra Leone. The campus is located in Kabala Town and UNIMAK is the first University to have begun operations in the district. [4] In 2018, the university's application fees were eliminated for application forms as part of an initiative championed by President Julius Maada Bio to improve access to higher education for young people. [5]

In 2019, the university became a founding member of the First Responder Coalition of Sierra Leone (FRCSL), with the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society, LFR International, the Holy Spirit Hospital, and Agency for Rural Community Transformation (ARCT). The Coalition's mission was to "facilitate the development of emergency first responder programs to alleviate the burden of traumatic injury in Sierra Leone." [6] [7]

Governance

The university is privately owned by the Emeritus of the Catholic Diocese of Makeni and is the first private university in the country owned by the Catholic Mission. [8] It is also governed by members of the Makeni University Governing Council. [9]

Programs

As a research-oriented university, there is a large breadth to the research being conducted at UNIMAK. [10]

Public health

Representatives from the University of Makeni and Makerere University in Uganda met with academics from the School of Public Health at the Imperial College London to discuss building institutional capacities to provide public health education. [11] The partnership has helped build the health education program at the university.

Ebola

In 2015, during the latter stages of the Ebola crisis outbreak, researchers from the University of Cambridge and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute studying unconventional transmission of Ebola by sequencing the virus in real-time initially constructed temporary genome sequencing facilities to provide in-country sequencing capabilities to process patient samples from Makeni. Since the end of the crisis, the facilities have since been moved to the university, where they have formed the UNIMAK Infectious Disease Research Laboratory. [12] The laboratory provides training for local scientists and students, crucial to sequencing and managing continued Ebola cases in Makeni without international collaborators present.

UNIMAK has been a leader in the PREDICT Ebola Host Project, as one of two Sierra Leonean institutions involved in the project (the other being Njala University). [13] The PREDCIT project is a USAID-funded project headquartered at the UC-Davis One Health Institute. Subsequent to the Ebola Crisis, two groups began searching for hemorrhagic disease reservoirs in West Africa to preempt future crises. [14] One group was led by the CDC and Njala University, while the other was led by UC-Davis and UNIMAK. As a result of the project, scientists were able to discover an Ebola virus species (Marburg Virus) in a host (fruit-eating bats) prior to detection in an infected human or sick animal for the first time ever. [15] [16] [17]

Special needs educators program

UNIMAK is currently the only university in Sierra Leone to offer special needs teacher training. [18] The absence of special needs teachers in Sierra Leone to educate disabled children has become a priority for the Ministry of Education, having assured the government that it is championing policy for the expansion of these programs in Parliament based on UNIMAK's programs. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Leone</span> Country on the southwest coast of West Africa

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It shares its southeastern border with Liberia and is bordered by Guinea to the north. With a land area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi), Sierra Leone has a tropical climate and with a variety of environments ranging from savannas to rainforests. According to the 2015 census, Sierra Leone has a population of 7,092,113, with Freetown serving as both the capital and largest city. The country is divided into five administrative regions, which are further subdivided into 16 districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Leone People's Party</span> Political party in Sierra Leone

The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with its main political rival the All People's Congress (APC). It has been the ruling party in Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. The SLPP dominated Sierra Leone's politics from its foundation in 1951 to 1967, when it lost the 1967 parliamentary election to the APC, led by Siaka Stevens. Originally a centre-right, conservative party, it identifies since 2012 as a centre-left social democratic party, with a centrist tendency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Makeni</span> Place in Northern Province, Sierra Leone

Makeni is the largest city in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The city is the capital of Bombali District, and is the economic center of the Northern Province. Makeni is the fifth largest city in Sierra Leone by population. The city of Makeni had a population of 85,116 in the 2021 census. Makeni lies approximately 110 miles east of Freetown. Makeni is home to the University of Makeni, the largest private university in Sierra Leone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bombali District</span> Place in Northern Province, Sierra Leone

Bombali is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Makeni, which is also the largest city in the north. The Bombali district is one of the sixteen districts of Sierra Leone. Bombali is one of the largest districts in Sierra Leone by geographical area, after Koinadugu District, and is the second most populous district in the Northern part of Sierra Leone, after Port Loko district. In the 2015 Sierra Leone national census, the population of Bombali District was 606,183. Other major towns in Bombali District include Kamabai, Karina and Binkolo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Bai Koroma</span> President of Sierra Leone from 2007 to 2018

Ernest Bai Koroma is a Sierra Leonean politician who served as the fourth President of Sierra Leone from 17 September 2007 to 4 April 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koinadugu District</span> Place in Northern Province, Sierra Leone

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Sierra Leone Red Cross Society (SLRCS) was established in 1962 by an act of the Parliament of Sierra Leone and is a national society. It has its headquarters in Freetown.

In terms of available healthcare and health status Sierra Leone is rated very poorly. Globally, infant and maternal mortality rates remain among the highest. The major causes of illness within the country are preventable with modern technology and medical advances. Most deaths within the country are attributed to nutritional deficiencies, lack of access to clean water, pneumonia, diarrheal diseases, anemia, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western African Ebola virus epidemic</span> 2013–2016 major disease outbreak

The 2013–2016 epidemic of Ebola virus disease, centered in Western Africa, was the most widespread outbreak of the disease in history. It caused major loss of life and socioeconomic disruption in the region, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The first cases were recorded in Guinea in December 2013; later, the disease spread to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, with minor outbreaks occurring in Nigeria and Mali. Secondary infections of medical workers occurred in the United States and Spain. In addition, isolated cases were recorded in Senegal, the United Kingdom and Italy. The number of cases peaked in October 2014 and then began to decline gradually, following the commitment of substantial international resources.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebola virus epidemic in Sierra Leone</span>

An Ebola virus epidemic in Sierra Leone occurred in 2014, along with the neighbouring countries of Guinea and Liberia. At the time it was discovered, it was thought that Ebola virus was not endemic to Sierra Leone or to the West African region and that the epidemic represented the first time the virus was discovered there. However, US researchers pointed to lab samples used for Lassa fever testing to suggest that Ebola had been in Sierra Leone as early as 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Responses to the West African Ebola virus epidemic</span>

Organizations from around the world responded to the West African Ebola virus epidemic. In July 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened an emergency meeting with health ministers from eleven countries and announced collaboration on a strategy to co-ordinate technical support to combat the epidemic. In August, they declared the outbreak an international public health emergency and published a roadmap to guide and coordinate the international response to the outbreak, aiming to stop ongoing Ebola transmission worldwide within 6–9 months. In September, the United Nations Security Council declared the Ebola virus outbreak in the West Africa subregion a "threat to international peace and security" and unanimously adopted a resolution urging UN member states to provide more resources to fight the outbreak; the WHO stated that the cost for combating the epidemic will be a minimum of $1 billion.

The following lists events that happened during 2014 in Sierra Leone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Sierra Leonean general election</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Responder Coalition of Sierra Leone</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Konteh</span> APC Sierra Leone Presidential Candidate Aspirant for 2023

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References

  1. 1 2 Jibba, Mac (August 29, 2011). "Sierra Leone: The University of Makeni - A University With a Difference". Concord Times (Freetown). Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  2. ↑ on, Posted (2018-10-04). "Sierra Leone: A long road towards mental health reform". Politico SL. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  3. ↑ Guardian Staff (2016-11-11). "Volunteers who fought Ebola for Sierra Leone – one year on". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  4. ↑ Media, Sierra Express. "Momoh Konte Takes UNIMAK To Koinadugu – Sierra Express Media" . Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  5. ↑ Contributor, S. E. M. "President Bio Eliminates Fees For University Application Forms – Sierra Express Media" . Retrieved 2019-06-21.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ↑ "Makeni: Coalition of First Responders formed". The Patriotic Vanguard. 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  7. ↑ Thomas, Abdul Rashid (2019-07-05). "Sierra Leone's road accident First Responder Coalition to save thousands of lives" . Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  8. ↑ "Sierra Leone News: UNIMAK to Re-Open with 2 Lawyers". Awoko Newspaper. 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  9. ↑ "Members of the University Council". University of Makeni. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  10. ↑ "UniMak to host Julius Maada Bio". Awoko Newspaper. 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  11. ↑ London, Imperial College London. "Sporty science and partying way out west: News from the College | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  12. ↑ "Sexual transmission involved in tail end of Ebola epidemic". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  13. ↑ "Pre-empting zoonotic disease threats: Researchers focus on animal reservoirs for Lassa and Ebola viruses". www.avma.org. March 27, 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  14. ↑ "Deadly Marburg virus detected in West Africa for the first time, in fruit bat populations". Axios. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  15. ↑ Sun, Lena H. (December 20, 2018). "Deadly Marburg virus found in bats in Sierra Leone". The Washington Post.
  16. ↑ Kerlin, Kat; Davis, U. C. (2018-10-19). "Finding Ebola before it finds you". University of California. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  17. ↑ "Sierra Leone News: Marburg virus detected in fruit-eating bats". Awoko Newspaper. 2018-12-21. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  18. ↑ "Sierra Leone News: Sight Savers champion Inclusive Education Policy". Awoko Newspaper. 2017-12-05. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  19. ↑ "Sierra Leone News: Inclusive education policy ready". Awoko Newspaper. 2017-11-29. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
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