Sierra Leone

The aftermath of the civil war, the Ebola epidemic, and the COVID‑19 pandemic have placed a severe strain on Sierra Leone’s healthcare system. The country is among the least developed nations in the world.

Aftermath of civil war and Ebola epidemic

After years of bloody civil wars that claimed tens of thousands of lives, reconstruction efforts were able to begin in 2000 following a peace agreement. However, the progress made was once again put at risk in the following years, as the country was hit by a severe Ebola epidemic between 2014 and 2016, with nearly 4,000 reported deaths. The epidemic was one of the most devastating in history and had a profound impact on both the population and the national health system.

Despite noticeable progress, the health care system continues to face major challenges, particularly due to insufficient financial resources and a shortage of qualified medical personnel in rural areas. As a result, people often do not receive the medical care they need. This poses an enormous risk especially for mothers, pregnant women, and infants: despite some improvements in recent years, Sierra Leone still ranks among the countries with the highest maternal and infant mortality rates worldwide.

In numbers: The situation in Sierra Leone

More than half of the population lives below the poverty line
Almost one quarter of the population is undernourished
About one in eleven children dies before reaching the age of five
Around 1 in 282 births results in the mother's death
The country would need more than twice as many midwives
In the Human Development Index (HDI), Sierra Leone ranks 184th out of 193 countries

From disaster relief to sustainable development cooperation

action medeor's involvement in Sierra Leone began with the Ebola epidemic from 2014 to 2016. During the epidemic, action medeor supported health facilities with medicines and hygiene materials as well as protective equipment for medical staff to prevent the spread of this life-threatening disease. With the end of the epidemic, it was clear that Sierra Leone's health system urgently needed support to prevent outbreaks of this kind in the future. Another problem was that many of the victims of the epidemic were healthcare workers.

This is where action medeor's project work in Sierra Leone came in: Together with the local project partner, Caritas Bo, action medeor set up a midwifery school in the town of Bo and has since been supporting the training and further education of midwives in various projects. This commitment is already proving a great success: Since the graduation of the first class in 2019, more than 300 midwives and obstetricians have already completed their training at the school in Bo, many of whom have since been deployed at maternity wards and hospitals in rural regions of the country.

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