Why Sierra Leone? Protracted civil war from 1991 to 2002 caused devastation in Sierra Leone. In 2017, it ranked 184 out of 189 countries in the Human Development Index. We have been working in Sierra Leone since 1996 and are currently working in Port Loko, Tonkolili District and in the Freetown/Western Area. Our integrated programming approach aims to tackle all dimensions of poverty, focusing on the overlapping areas of health, education and livelihoods while maintaining our response to emergencies.
From 2014 to 2016, a severe Ebola outbreak rocked the country, infecting and killing thousands of people.
After the Ebola outbreak, resumption of iron ore mining led to a rebound of the economy. However, the outlook for 2019 and beyond remains challenging.
The government is working on a new Poverty Reduction Strategy, which will outline its priorities for social and economic development. Unfortunately, there have not been significant changes in addressing the environmental challenges faced by the country, which are directly linked to a number of potential emergencies, like the mudslide seen in 2017.
"Alongside preventing the spread of Ebola, what we really wanted to do was to make sure that families could say goodbye to their loved ones with dignity and to know exactly where they were buried. Previously many bodies had been buried in unmarked mass plots."
Malaria prevention
A total of 5,752 people directly benefited from our TAP (treat and prevent) Malaria programme, which improved health service treatment of malaria and other diseases.
Emergency response
Adolescent sexual and reproductive health
We are working hard to combat suffering and build resilience in Sierra Leone. Our programmes focus on humanitarian response, livelihoods, health, education and gender equality.
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