SIERRA LEONE
COUNTRY PROFILE
Sierra Leone has a population of six
million, the vast majority of which is living in poverty.
Average GNI per capita is US$260, and life expectancy is 41
years (men) and 44 years (women).
In 2007, the country was ranked lowest of 177 countries in
the UN Human Development Index.
Maternal mortality indicators are amongst the highest in the
world. Out of every 100,000 live births, 1,800 women die according
to UNDP figures, while one in four children die before they
reach age five.
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Map courtesy of FCO (UK)
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In 2002, the country emerged from a decade
of civil war, with the help of Britain, the former colonial power,
and a large United Nations peacekeeping mission.
More than 17,000 foreign troops disarmed tens of thousands of rebels
and militia fighters. A lasting legacy of the war, in which tens
of thousands of people died, was the atrocities committed by the
rebels, whose trademark was to hack off the hands or feet of their
victims.
Several years on, Sierra Leone still faces
the challenge of reconstruction. Economic recovery has been slow
partly because the reconstruction needs are so great. Around half
of government revenue comes from donors.
HISTORY OF GOAL IN SIERRA LEONE:
GOAL began working in Sierra Leone in 1999 and since then has been
implementing programmes across the rehabilitation, development,
and relief sectors in both rural and urban locations. Programmes
to date include the construction and maintenance of displaced people’s
camps in the capital city Freetown; integrated primary healthcare
programmes; child protection initiatives; water and sanitation interventions
and health and nutrition programmes.
CURRENT GOAL PROGRAMMES:
• Nutrition
• Healthcare
• Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
• Disadvantaged Youth and Children
• Malaria Prevention
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