In Sierra Leone, USAID helps improve maternal, child and reproductive health.

USAID

AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY

Agriculture remains the backbone of the Sierra Leone economy and contributes about 50 percent of GDP. Subsistence agriculture is the main activity for around 50% of the adult working population, making economic diversification in the country exceptionally difficult.  In Sierra Leone, USAID works to sustainably strengthen the country’ capacity in the agriculture sector, including support to provide access to markets via supply chain enhancements, and expanded integrated inland aquaculture. We also work to strengthen the economy through private sector foreign direct investment, to  stimulate economic growth. 

DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND GOVERNANCE

Despite holding credible general elections to elect a new president, members of Parliament and local councils since the end of the civil war in 2002, Sierra Leone still carries its post-conflict attributes of corruption and weak governance.  USAID’s program is centered on public accountability with the goal of increasing public trust in government. We aim to strengthen democracy, human rights, access to justice, and media freedom by working with Sierra Leoneans to build government accountability, ensure responsive public institutions, and strengthen judicial processes, and promote strong democratic norms and processes. USAID is also working to achieve gender equity in Sierra Leone where customary laws, institutional and economic barriers and widely held cultural and social beliefs acting as significant ongoing barriers to women’s full integration into the decision-making sphere at the household, community and national levels.

GLOBAL HEALTH

The Government of Sierra Leone is making positive strides in the health sector. Various policies and reforms, such as the Free Health Care Initiative and the Basic Package of Essential Health Services have been put in place to improve the health status of women and children. Despite these positive strides, there are still big challenges with inadequate human resources, and the lack of adequate equipment and infrastructure.USAID supports the nationwide expansion and scale-up of life-saving, high impact health interventions in public and private health facilities in the areas of neglected tropical diseases; malaria prevention and control; global health security; maternal child health; and family planning. USAID also provides technical assistance, commodities and equipment to Sierra Leone’s primary health care delivery system and the community health worker program.  Under GHSA USAID works with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, and the Environmental Protection Agency to pursue a multilateral and multi-sectoral approach to strengthen Sierra Leone’s capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to human and animal infectious disease threats, whether naturally occurring, or accidentally or deliberately spread.