SIERRA LEONE – World Health Organization (WHO), through Sierra Leone’s Country Representative, has congratulated the government on becoming the biggest success story in the maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births in Africa.
The Integrated African Health Observatory report released in March 2023 provided crucial insights into the state of maternal health in the African region.
Shockingly, Sierra Leone was identified as one of the top three countries with high maternal mortality rates in 2017, with a staggering 1,120 deaths per 100,000 live births.
This represented a grave concern for the country’s healthcare sector and the government’s development agenda.
However, the latest statistics indicate that the maternal mortality rate in Sierra Leone has significantly decreased by almost 60%, with only 443 deaths per 100,000 live births recorded in 2020.
This remarkable progress is a testament to the country’s unwavering commitment to improving maternal healthcare and the impressive strides made in the healthcare sector.
It also underscores the government’s relentless efforts to implement strategic interventions aimed at reducing maternal mortality rates, such as increasing access to quality maternal health services, training more midwives, and promoting community education and awareness.
These measures have had a positive impact on maternal health outcomes and are aligned with the government’s development agenda, which prioritizes human capital development through the provision of essential social services such as healthcare, education, and food security.
The improved maternal mortality rate in Sierra Leone is undoubtedly a significant milestone towards achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all.
“Sierra Leone used to be one of the countries with the highest maternal mortality, which it has moved away from. In this year’s estimation that we have released recently,” said the new WHO Rep.
The president of Sierra Leone Dr Julius Maada Bio received the new Country Representative for World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Innocent Nuwagira who told the President about the UN agency’s 75th anniversary this year.
He added that while they were happy to announce that the celebration would last for the whole year, they also wanted to call on the President to be part of the story of their partnership and achievements.
Dr. Nuwagira expressed his satisfaction with Sierra Leone’s successful transition from COVID-19, highlighting the Universal Health Preparedness Review as an opportunity to showcase the country’s achievements.
Sierra Leone is the second country in Africa and the only stable country in the region that has overcome COVID-19, a feat that many people are eager to learn from.
President Julius Maada Bio applauded the government’s efforts to achieve this milestone and stressed the importance of health as part of the human capital development initiative.
The President reiterated that his government had made many interventions, desperate to eliminate the stigma of being a country with the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the region.
He emphasized that his administration’s human capital development agenda is centered on health, education, and food security.
He went on to state that, with the significant progress made in the education sector over the past five years, the news of Sierra Leone transitioning from COVID-19 was welcome.
The government is committed to continuing its partnership with the WHO and to supporting any initiative aimed at improving the health of Sierra Leoneans.
President Bio emphasized that universal health coverage is a tough aspiration, but his government is determined to build a healthier nation for a more productive future.
The President expressed his willingness to learn from others and to share Sierra Leone’s experience. He concluded by reaffirming his commitment to making Sierra Leone a 21st-century nation, with an educated population, a healthy society, and food security, and welcoming the WHO to Sierra Leone.
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