A pregnant woman receiving antenatal care
©The Saibatu Mansaray Foundation

The UNICEF 2023 annual report has revealed that maternal mortality has been on a significant decline in Sierra Leone. This means the number of women dying from pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum complications has steadily decreased from 2019 to 2023 in the country.

The report shows that the figures dropped from 717 to 443 per 100,000 births in the five-year period. 

Maternal mortality has been a huge public health issue in Sierra Leone. However, the recent data show the interventions of the government and development partners are paying off with the decline.

Past Cases of Maternal Mortality

In April this year, Journalist Amadu Lamrana Bah reported the news of  a pregnant woman being carried on a hammock to the hospital, in Kabala Northern Sierra Leone. This was as a result of the absence of a clinic in the neighborhood.

A home delivery attempt led to complications which resulted in the death of the baby a couple of hours after birth. Health workers at the location reportedly said that these cases are familiar. In some instances, issues like this have resulted in the death of the mother or both them and the unborn baby.

Several factors have been responsible for maternal mortality in Sierra Leone. Less quality healthcare services, inaccessibility of health services by citizens in remote areas and reliance on traditional baby delivery methods.

Progress Made in Maternal Mortality Cases 

The decline in maternal mortality suggests improvements in the healthcare systems, better access to medical services for pregnant women, enhanced health care education, and more trained healthcare workers. 

Despite improvements in the last five years, UNICEF says that challenges in maternal care remain. Sierra Leone still has one of the highest mortality rates globally according to the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNIGME). 

Data of health successes in Sierra Leone
© UNICEF Sierra Leone

Progress in Child Mortality

The UNICEF report stated that 12% more newborns than in 2022 were saved in 16 Special-Care Baby Units (SCBUs). Before 2019, 1360 cases of infant mortality occurred per 100,000 births, according to Statistics Sierra Leone, the country’s data management agency.

Government efforts In Reducing Maternal Mortality in Sierra Leone

In 2023, the Government of Sierra Leone launched the Child Survival Action Plan 2023-2025 (CSAP) with an aim to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Target of 25 or fewer deaths per live births. This followed a recorded death rate of 27,000 children between 1-59 months in 2021. 

The government says the CSAP is among three Action Plans it has developed. The others include the Preventable Maternal Mortality and Every Newborn Action Plan (EPMM/ENAP). The EPMM/ENAP is focused on pregnancy through newborn (28 days) and aims to cut neonatal mortality level to 23 per 1000 live births by 2025. On the other hand the CSAP focuses on infancy through early childhood (1-15 months), with an aim to reduce the under-five mortality rate to 71 per 1,000 live births by 2025.