Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is a country in transition. Recovery from its 11-year conflict will take time; Concern continues to work hard to face up to the significant challenges that remain.

Filling gaps

Concern is working to improve people’s access to quality healthcare services. We continue to fill gaps within existing health services. This has included training 286 traditional health practitioners to promote the rational use of alternative medicines.

Food crisis

Sierra Leone is one of the many countries affected by the global food crisis. The video below examines the crisis in more detail.

Education for children and adults

We recently distributed 17,137 text books to 33 primary schools and 5,051 text books to four secondary schools. Training has been provided for teachers and administrators of 66 primary schools

We held a training workshop for 132 teachers on adult literacy. Our distance education programme continued to expand; 368 teachers have enrolled, 14 were certified and 136 await their final examination result.

Extra income for schools

Concern recently trained 462 school management committee members and 330 community members in developing and managing small projects for improving schools. The focus here has been on generating extra income through farm-based projects.

Maternal healthcare

We trained 642 traditional birth attendants to provide monitoring and care during pregnancy. Our pregnant women’s clubs promote regular check-ups and breastfeeding as well as running ante-natal and post-natal group sessions. They have reached 424 women.

Providing safe water

The rehabilitation and building of 22 wells provided safe water facilities for 12,046 people. Also, 480 new latrines gave 12,437 people access to reliable sanitation facilities.