The Facts
Mothers in Sierra Leone face one of the highest lifetime risks of maternal death in the world.
About Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa, with an estimated population of close to eight million people. Between 1991 and 2002, the country experienced a civil war that left more than 50,000 people dead and its infrastructure destroyed with over two million people displaced. The country’s economy is yet to fully recover after the effects of the civil war.
The lifetime risk of dying while having a baby in Sierra Leone is 1 in 17. That is about 500 times more dangerous than having a baby in Australia where the same figure is 1 in 8,700. The country has been ranked third lowest in terms of the Mothers’ Index, which assesses the well-being of mothers and children. Almost 3,000 women and 20,000 children die annually from preventable health-related conditions, a situation that has been further compounded by the spread of the Ebola virus.

The figures are shocking
- The risk of dying while having a baby in Sierra Leone is 1 in 17.
- 11,000 newborns die each year.
- 70% of the population live in poverty.
- The average total fertility rate is 5.1 children per woman.
- Women of the reproductive age group 15-49 years constitute approximately 25% of the population.
- Life expectancy is 47 years.
- The government spends only $10 on the health needs of each Sierra Leonean per year...
- ... this is way below the World Health Organisation's recommended $54 per person per year.
- The World Health Organisation recommends a critical threshold of 23 skilled healthcare providers (doctors, nurses, midwives) per 10,000 of population.
- Sierra Leone manages only 2 per 10,000 of the population.