The Randal Foundation are proud to support Resurge Africa’s project to enhance nutrition service at Sierra Leone’s first dedicated burns unit at Connaught Hospital.
Resurge Africa’s mission is to establish a reconstructive surgery and burns services in West Africa, through the training and empowerment of local doctors, anaesthetists, nurses and physiotherapists. Their legacy is permanent self-sustaining change to the predicament of the lack of local skills.
Severe burns often cause a hypermetabolic state, greatly increasing nutritional needs. In Sierra Leone, where hospitals depend on families to provide food, many patients lack access to the high-protein diets critical for their survival and recovery. This situation leads to higher mortality, slower wound healing, infections, longer hospital stays, and long-term disabilities.
The Randal Foundation are supporting Resurge Africa’s project to strengthen burn care through four coordinated initiatives.
A dedicated nutrition room will be set up in the burns unit, with the necessary infrastructure to prepare high-protein nutritional supplements, including a fortified version of Nyam Nyam Pap made from locally sourced ingredients. This will ensure that nutritionally vulnerable patients receive proper support during both treatment and recovery.
At the same time, five training workshops will be held for around 100 caregivers, hospital dieticians, and healthcare workers. These workshops will cover nutrition’s role in healing and recovery, as well as practical skills for preparing protein-enriched foods in the hospital and at home. Burns prevention education will also be included to help participants reduce injury risks in their communities.
To strengthen learning and improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding nutrition in burns care, printed nutrition infographics will be created and distributed in clinical and community settings.
This initiative is projected to save approximately 150 lives and substantially improve the quality of life for 1,720 individuals within a year.
As part of Resurge Africa’s ongoing health system strengthening efforts, the project emphasizes sustainability by integrating nutrition into routine care, strengthening local capacity, and equipping families with essential skills. It aims to improve patient outcomes, reduce preventable complications, and enhance long-term burn care within Sierra Leone’s public health system.
Quote from Dr. Catherine Liao, Director, Resurge Africa
“We thank the Randal Charitable Foundation for their support. This funding enables us to strengthen the role of nutrition in burn care, working closely with our local partner in Sierra Leone. It also brings together patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers through practical training and shared learning. By emphasizing locally available ingredients and fostering these partnerships, the project supports more sustainable approaches to healing within Sierra Leone’s health system.”
