Entertain for Health Project (EHP)

About the Project

The Entertain for Health Project (EHP) uses sports and entertainment competitions as tools to tackle harmful substance use among adolescents and youth in rural areas and the city of Bo district, Sierra Leone. The project was funded by Grand Challenges Canada (GCC), through the Being Initiative, to test the proof of concept in Bo district and generate evidence to inform its scale-up to additional districts across Sierra Leone.

Project Achievements

The project aimed to improve mental health and reduce harmful substance use among young people in Sierra Leone through sports and entertainment competitions combined with community-based mental health promotion, screening, counselling, and psychosocial support. The project has achieved significant results as planned:

• Trained peer educators: A total of 50 young community peer educators were trained and effectively delivered project interventions across Bo district, including community-based mental health screening, counselling, and referrals.
• Improved knowledge and skills: Young people demonstrated an estimated 50% improvement in knowledge and skills related to mental health and the prevention of harmful substance use, supported by monthly sports and entertainment competitions in public spaces and playgrounds, complemented by social and behaviour change messages.
• Reduced stigma and harmful substance use: Young people demonstrated improved attitudes towards mental health, including reduced stigma and harmful substance use, through individual and group counselling, psychosocial support, and community engagement activities.
• Regular screening and referrals: Monthly mental health and substance-use screening sessions were conducted, enabling the identification of young people experiencing substance-use problems or other mental health concerns. Those requiring additional support were referred to nearby health facilities or rehabilitation centers for appropriate psychosocial support and counselling.
• Improved mental health and well-being: Overall, the project contributed to improved mental health, psychosocial well-being, awareness, and help-seeking behaviours among young people in Bo district, while creating safe and engaging platforms through sports and entertainment for delivering mental health and substance-use prevention messages.

Lessons Learned

1. The combination of mental health and substance use preventive services into public entertainment and sport competitions is the best youth-friendly and comprehensive community-based approach to reduce substance use among young people in Sierra Leone.
2. The community peer educators or community health workers (CHWs) are the best community-based approach to deliver comprehensive and stigma-free community-based mental health education and services.
3. Community-based individual and group counseling are effective and efficient in reducing addiction to harmful substance use among young people, especially when conducted with the trained peer educators or CHWs who have strong relationships and trust in their respective communities.

Next Steps

Mobilization of additional resources and funding from local, national, regional, continental, and international partners to sustain existing innovation activities in Bo District and support their scale-up to additional districts in Sierra Leone, starting with Bonthe, Moyamba, and Pujehun Districts in the Southern Province, during 2027–2028.