The Government of Sierra Leone is in the process of developing a HIV/AIDS Response Project (SHARP) with the support of the World Bank. The project will help organize a response to the growing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection which causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), in short HIV/AIDS, in a country with one of the worst human development indicators in the world. It will do so through a multi-sector approach by: (a) containing or reducing the level of the epidemic and (b) mitigating its effects. The overall project is premised on the development and expansion of local responses to the epidemic.

This Project is to be a country program within the context of the $500 million Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Program for the Africa Region (MAP). In collaboration with other members of the International Partnership Against AIDS in Africa (IPAA), the project will help step up, organize, and mainstream the response against HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and Tuberculosis (TB), which are important risk cofactors in the early stages of an HIV/AIDS epidemic. This will be achieved through the provision of HIV/AIDS prevention and care services at all levels (national, regional, and local) as well as in a number of sectors. The emphasis will be on prevention among youth and women of child-bearing age, and groups that are particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS.

The intention is also to address the military and ex-combatants, internally displaced people, and refugees. The project will help organize a response to the growing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection which causes the acqred immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), in short HIV/AIDS, in a country with one of the worst human development indicators in the world. It will do so through a multi-sector approach by: (a) containing or reducing the level of the epidemic and (b) mitigating its effects. The overall project is premised on the development and expansion of local responses to the epidemic.