Sierra Leone

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Some annual results

15,000adolescents have access to sexual and reproductive health services
450youth groups on sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence
15,668entrepreneurs given access to finance
12direct SME investments approved under SIFA

Global Peace Index

56/ 163

GPI Rank

Political Instability

Safety & Security

Ongoing Conflict

Source: Global Peace Index (2020)

Cordaid in Sierra Leone

Cordaid has been working in Sierra Leone since the early 90s. Currently, we are rolling out programs in youth sexual and reproductive health, disaster risk reduction and private sector development. We support the private sector with resilience business development services and programs that improve access to finance. We also provide adolescent sexual and reproductive health care services through our teenage pregnancy reduction program. Our Resilience unit assists vulnerable people and communities to become more resilient to disasters.

Where does Cordaid work?

In Pujehun, Kenema and Bombali Cordaid supports teenage pregnancy reduction projects and the Private Sector Development program supports entrepreneurs in and around Bo, Makeni and Freetown. In Bombali and Western Area Urban, we assist communities to become more resilient to disasters and disaster risks.

8,0 Million

Population

Rural population

Urban population

6.1% annual

GDP growth

33.2 per 1,000

Mortality rate, neonatal

Source: worldbank.org

Current situation

Sierra Leone is currently recovering from the socio-economic impact of the Ebola epidemic, which ended in 2015. And the decade-long civil war, which ended in 2002 and devastated infrastructures and public service systems, still makes it very hard for young people and entrepreneurs to thrive. Sierra Leone remains among the world’s poorest countries, ranking 179 out of 188 countries in the Human Development Index in 2015. 52.96% of the population lives below the income poverty line.

Economically, Sierra Leone was the country that was hit the hardest by the Ebola epidemic - the scale of which the world had never seen before. The Ebola crisis showed the importance to support and strengthen public and private sectors in Sierra Leone. It laid bare the urgency to increase employment and youth participation and to create sustainable socio-economic growth. It exposed the poor quality of health care, with the resultant effect of reversing the gains made on utilization, as trust and confidence in the health system were massively eroded. And, finally, it showed the need to strengthen the path towards peace and security.

Cordaid in Sierra Leone

Cordaid’s programs in Sierra Leone target economic growth, sexual and reproductive health and rights, livelihoods and sustainability. Cordaid continues to support the government of Sierra Leone in achieving the sustainable development goals and propel the country from a context of fragility to a middle-income economy by 2030. Cordaid also works collaboratively with communities to ensure that they have agency in how the programs are carried out and positively impact youth, entrepreneurs and women. Our integrated programming supports the country out of fragility. We do this through:

health system strengthening: with innovative approaches to a sustainable reduction in teenage pregnancy. Our approach includes working with boys and men;
private sector development: from micro to missing middle to large businesses including micro-finance and SME investment;
increasing resilience to disasters and risks: our Resilience unit, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) cluster, aims to assist vulnerable people and communities to become more resilient in the face of climate change, environmental degradation and (armed) conflict. They thereby enable livelihood security, peace dialogue and sustainable economic growth.

A health care facility in Makeni is supported by Cordaid in the fight against Ebola (2016). Image: Arie Kievit.

Partners and donors

For the Teenage Pregnancy SAN Project our partners are Planned Parenthood Association Sierra Leone, Christian Brothers, Stop Aids Now (SAN).

For the private sector development programme, our partners are Global Entrepreneurship Network ( GEN), Freetown Business School.

For the Resilience and Disaster Risk program, our partners are Catholic Relief Services, Freetown City Council and Action for Advocacy and Development – Sierra Leone (AAD-SL)