Demographics of Sierra Leone

How to get vaccines to remote areas? In Sierra Leone they’re delivered by foot, boat or motorbike

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星期四, 四月 18, 2024

In Sierra Leone almost 59% of the population live in remote, rural areas.

Key Points:

In Sierra Leone almost 59% of the population live in remote, rural areas.
Roads may be non-existent or in bad condition, making it very difficult for rural dwellers to access healthcare.

Why are vaccination rates low in Sierra Leone?

In stark contrast, only 15% of people had been vaccinated in low-income countries.
The hardships Sierra Leoneans face are typical of the obstacles people in low-income countries have to overcome to access healthcare.
In the early days of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Sierra Leone, it took the average Sierra Leonean living in a rural community three-and-a-half hours each way to the nearest vaccination centre.

How did this vaccine drive tackle the problem?

The primary aim of this intervention was to take vaccine doses and nurses to administer vaccines to remote, rural communities, preceded by seeking permission and community mobilisation.
At the time, only 6% to 9% of the adults who took part in the programme were already immunised.
The leaders were asked for their cooperation in encouraging eligible community members to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
Finally, vaccine doses and healthcare workers arrived at the villages to administer the doses.

Looking forward

This approach proved 76% more cost-effective than other vaccination campaigns.
Transport accounted for a large share of the costs, so the cost-effectiveness of last mile delivery can be increased by offering a “bundle” of health products.
Other estimates put the death toll for the same period at 14.83 million, which is 2.74 times higher.
Developing cost-effective strategies to make vaccines easily accessible to everyone, everywhere, is the most promising solution to prevent future pandemics.

Niccolò Francesco Meriggi receives funding from Weiss Asset Management, UKRI and the International Growth Centre.

Sierra Leoneans Welcome Newest Mercy Ship, the Global Mercy® into Port of Freetown

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星期四, 八月 24, 2023

President Julius Maada Bio, Freetown has welcomed a Mercy Ships’ hospital ship, marking the sixth instance of the collaboration between Mercy Ships and the government of Sierra Leone.

Key Points:

President Julius Maada Bio, Freetown has welcomed a Mercy Ships’ hospital ship, marking the sixth instance of the collaboration between Mercy Ships and the government of Sierra Leone.
This time it is the Global Mercy® the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship, which has docked at the Queen Elizabeth II Quay.
View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230823493995/en/
Sierra Leoneans welcome the Global Mercy.
This collaboration with Mercy Ships reflects our vision for a resilient healthcare system in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone election: voter trust has been shaken, and will need to be regained

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星期五, 六月 30, 2023

With 56% of votes cast in the election on 24 June, Bio was declared winner ahead of his main rival, Samura Kamara, who polled 41%.

Key Points:

With 56% of votes cast in the election on 24 June, Bio was declared winner ahead of his main rival, Samura Kamara, who polled 41%.
Kamara rejected the result and international election observers have highlighted some problems with the way votes were counted.
There has been relative calm across Sierra Leone since Bio was sworn in.

What did you learn from the outcome of this election?

Sierra Leoneans expect that the election process is potentially corrupt unless there is full transparency in the whole process.
The public had very high levels of trust in the two elections immediately after the civil war, which ended in 2002, because the United Nations was heavily involved.
It was involved in the planning and execution of the 2002 election and, to a lesser degree, the 2007 elections.

What has changed between 2012 and 2023 to result in the return of nepotism and cronyism?

The citizens complied without complaint, even as these were technically violations of basic human rights.
This is because the people were so committed to ensuring a free and fair election.

Who has been responsible for the pre-election violence?

A standard-bearer who considers themselves wronged will call on the party’s followers to “demonstrate”.
This is to ensure that those who are potentially corrupt see that others are trying to hold them to account.

What factors determine voter turnout?

The new president will do essentially what the last president did, with minor variations.
They have a sense of two things: one which is extremely likely, and the other which might happen.
So they turn out to vote for the candidate who will hurt them the least, and might actually help them.

What does the 2023 election outcome portend for democracy?

There may still be violence, and there may be a crackdown on protest, which starts down a dangerous road to authoritarianism or potentially wider violence.
Backsliding anywhere is dangerous, and no election is too small to ignore.

Sierra Leone has been at peace for 20 years after a brutal civil war - what went right

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星期四, 六月 22, 2023

They also mark a decade since the closure of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Key Points:

They also mark a decade since the closure of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
The court prosecuted high level commanders deemed responsible for the suffering experienced during the war.
Almost all the people of Sierra Leone were affected by the war, leaving an enduring scar on the country and the collective psyche.

Transitional justice mechanisms

Transitional justice is justice adapted to societies undergoing transformation away from “normalised” human rights abuse.
Sierra Leone became the first in which two transitional justice mechanisms were used.
My research focused on the official transitional justice mechanisms and whether the underlying causes of the war continued to affect the people of Sierra Leone.

Transitional justice in the long term

While in Sierra Leone, I had candid discussions on the implementation, limitations and legacy of the official transitional justice mechanisms.
I found there were operational tensions between the Truth Commission and the Special Court, but having both gave Sierra Leoneans restorative and retributive justice.
Restorative justice refers to “an approach to justice that seeks to repair harm by providing an opportunity for those harmed and those who take responsibility for the harm to communicate about and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime.” Retributive justice is a system of criminal justice based on the punishment of offenders rather than on rehabilitation.
Considering the impact of the war, incorporating both mechanisms was essential in helping the society to reconcile and rebuild.
This acknowledges collective trauma but works towards peace in the long term.

A long way forward

This is because its mechanisms are put to work over a short period but aim at long-term and lasting peace.
My research also explored the current situation in a more holistic way.
These are the legacy of transitional justice and its relationship to long-term peace, and the resilience of the Sierra Leonean people.

Sierra Leone elections: survey reveals what voters care about most

Retrieved on:

星期四, 六月 22, 2023

For more than two decades following its civil war, Sierra Leone has experienced relatively free and fair multiparty elections.

Key Points:

For more than two decades following its civil war, Sierra Leone has experienced relatively free and fair multiparty elections.
The 2023 presidential race features a 2018 rematch with incumbent president Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party squaring up against Samura Kamara of the All People’s Congress.
There seems to be widespread agreement, across age, that economic management, food shortages, health services, infrastructure and education are the most pressing issues.

New generation of voters

For this analysis, we mainly rely on Afrobarometer data collected in June and July 2022 in Sierra Leone.
The Sierra Leone 2023 election is of particular interest as a large proportion of the post-war generation will vote for the first time since the country’s return to multi-party elections in 2002.
Relative to other age groups, the younger generation do seem to be slightly more concerned about economic management and less concerned about the quality of health services.

Support for democracy, elections, and multiparty competition

But, for the past decade, 89% of respondents in Sierra Leone have preferred to choose their leaders through regular, open and honest elections.
The share of citizens who favour competition has varied over time from only 54% in 2012 to 64% in 2015.
But more younger people were in favour of party competition (59%) compared to older citizens (41%).

How is government doing?

Turning to popular evaluations of government performance in the past years, Table 2 illustrates the results are decidedly mixed.
A majority of Sierra Leoneans said government had been doing worse compared to a decade ago on managing the economy or managing water supply.
Since the Sierra Leone People’s Party took over in 2018, three out of four citizens have been satisfied with government performance in this sector.

What issues matter most to Sierra Leoneans

According to Afrobarometer data, economic issues are top in the minds of most Sierra Leoneans.
The World Food Programme estimates 57% of people in Sierra Leone are food insecure.
Young adults largely agree with their older peers about which issues are most pressing (with the partial exception of healthcare).

Campaign issues

He has promised sustainable economic transformation, free quality education and a 30% female representation quota by law.
His focus has been on agricultural productivity, health and sanitation standards, youth and gender employment, and infrastructure.
Kamara’s campaign appeals have largely focused on economic issues.

Conclusion

Charges were filed against him in November 2021 for alleged misdoings while he served as foreign affairs minister in 2016.
The case has been adjourned until after the election, allowing him to remain on the ballot.
Thus, it will be especially important for the upcoming elections to be free and fair, and for the winners to strengthen the country’s democratic journey.