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Launch of free healthcare programme in Sierra Leone

April 27 2010 marked a turning point in Sierra Leone. On the country's 49^th celebration of independence, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children under the age of five received free health care in government hospitals and clinics for the first time ever.

Speaking at the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital on the first day of free health care, His Excellency President Ernest Bai Koroma said:

“For many years, many pregnant women, breast feeding mothers and children under five have been suffering and dying because they simply could not pay the fees for the consultations, drugs and other services in our hospitals. We have now taken the biggest step ever to put an end to this unenviable situation.

“From this Independence Day, no pregnant woman, breast feeding mother or child under five will pay a single Leone for health care. By securing the health of our women and children, we are securing the future of Sierra Leone and I am confident that by taking this bold action many lives will be saved." 

A team member from the Africa Governance Initiative team has been supporting the Ministry of Health in the planning and delivery of free healthcare, which is being funded by the UK Government DfID and other donors. Tony Blair sent his congratulations on the launch of this ground-breaking programme:

“This bold initiative will make a huge difference not just to the lives of women and children in Sierra Leone, but to their families, friends and communities. I applaud President Koroma and his government for the courage and leadership they have shown in implementing this initiative, and to the health workers, development partners and civil society groups who have supported it.

“It is particularly fitting that this should be launched on the anniversary of Sierra Leone’s independence. By tackling the main barrier to accessing healthcare, this initiative will liberate hundreds of thousands of mothers and a million young children to get the essential treatment they need without having to worry about how they are going to pay for it.”

In a country where cost is the biggest barrier to accessing health care, the introduction of free services for the largest group of people that need it most is a huge step towards reducing infant and maternal mortality rates.  In 2008 only one-quarter of all births took place in a health facility in Sierra Leone, according to a Demographic and Health Survey, and just 42 percent of births were delivered by a skilled provider. The lifetime risk of a woman dying from complications in pregnancy and childbirth is one in eight (, Historically, Sierra Leoneans have  on average visited health facilities less than once a year – because of the cost.

The Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) is a UK charity which currently works in Rwanda, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Drawing on a unique blend of Tony Blair's own experience and the expertise of specially recruited project teams, AGI delivers world-class strategic advice, support and capacity development to some of Africa's most dynamic leaders on a not-for-profit basis. The projects are run as a genuine partnership, with AGI teams working side-by-side with counterparts in Presidential Offices, ministries, and investment promotion agencies to provide strategic advice and support and to develop capacity among the next generation of public service leaders.

See here for more about the launch of free healthcare and AGI’s work in the Ministry of Health in Sierra Leone in Sarah Boseley’s Guardian Health Blog.

Read Dr Samuel A S Kargbo, Sierra Leone’s Reproductive Health Minister, blogging about the launch of free healthcare here