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Sierra Leone has made progress in improving the well-being of children over the last 20 years and has registered the greatest improvement in the world, said the NGO Save the Children. While under-five child mortality in this West African country has almost been cut in half, it still affects one in ten children, according to the group's latest global report, "Change lives in our life. "
After implementing the Initiative for Free Health Care across the country in 2010, Sierra Leone improved the quality of life of children under five, including providing better care for malaria , diarrhea and pneumonia – frequent child killers – says Ramatu Jalloh, advocacy director for Save the Children in Freetown.
She says that the administration of President Julius Mada Bio, elected in March 2018, is working to improve these positive aspects.
"The new government recognizes that while much progress has been made, much more needs to be done to strengthen the health system," Jalloh told RFI.
"We recognize that hard-to-reach communities need quick action or intervention," she said. The government has strengthened its policy on community health workers and trains those living in remote areas to recognize and respond to health problems.
She says that one of the problems is that mothers do not realize that their child is struggling to solve it, adding that Sierra Leonean culture also comes into play.
"I know that traditional behaviors and beliefs about certain diseases probably have an impact on timely services that we are able to provide to vulnerable children," said Jalloh.
"This is a project we are working on and I know the government is focused on strengthening and moving forward," she added.
According to Save the Children statistics compiled in 176 countries in the area of child protection, Sierra Leone recorded an increase of 246 points from 2000 to 2018 – the highest in the world.
The country gained points by reducing the number of child marriages, reducing the number of deaths of children under five to 53% and reducing child labor, with children growing delayed, teenage births and child homicides.
The international organization is working with other non-governmental organizations in the country, including local NGOs, to improve children's nutrition. Scaling Up Nutrition is a civil society platform run by Save The Children UK, but reporting to the Office of the Sierra Leone Vice Presidency, to coordinate government, civil society and other actors in the field. field of nutrition.
After conducting research all over the country, they discovered that anemia was one of the major factors affecting mothers and children. The Secretariat used this information to promote the diversification of food for mothers and children, as well as food security.
Pregnant students still banned by the government
In Sierra Leone, pregnancy among female students is a recurring problem, Jalloh said, although it has decreased by 30% over the past 20 years, according to the report.
"It's one of those issues that people have different opinions about, but I was very clear about the government's intervention in this area, that all children, whatever their situation, regardless of their location education, "says Jalloh.
Under the previous government, pregnant girls were banned from clbadrooms in 2015 after the number of their victims increased during the Ebola outbreak due to rape and abuse .
However, the new administration of Mada Bio has reinforced the stigma of preventing pregnant girls from schooling.
Jalloh calls the issue with the government "a work in progress".
"One of the key things that we advocate more and now we know the government is supportive of, it's a complete baduality education," Jalloh said.
"We believe that if young people receive the right information, the right information, they will have an interest in making informed choices. And I hope it will also reduce teen pregnancy rates, "she adds.
Save the Children works with traditional leaders who are supreme leaders, as well as religious leaders, to explain the impact of teenage pregnancy and child marriage, not just on girls, but on the community in his outfit.
"The idea is to find a way to train champions from these groups, so they are the ones who lead the conversation at the community level, because they are the ones who are trusted, the communities listen," said Jalloh said the project had been successful in Pujehun, the southernmost district of Sierra Leone.
How is Sub-Saharan Africa, on the whole?
Countries in sub-Saharan Africa such as Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Niger, Rwanda and Zambia have also improved significantly in the last 20 years.
South Sudan, Rwanda and Ethiopia have reduced the number of children giving birth.
But there were also setbacks. The reduction in the number of child marriages in sub-Saharan Africa has been uneven, with countries such as Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Madagascar, Mali and Mozambique having has seen a significant increase in the number of child marriages in the last 20 years.
The last 20 countries, with the exception of Afghanistan, are all located in sub-Saharan Africa.
And while the countries with the highest under-five mortality come from fragile states, including the Central African Republic, Mali, Somalia, Sierra Leone and Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone is on the brink. point to reach his goal of child survival by 2050.
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