In response to an increased influx of patients, SSLDF aimed to increase the capacity, the conditions and the quality of care at the Magbenteh Community Hospital (MCH) in Makeni, by constructing a new outpatient department. The new unit was to include three to five additional examination rooms, a first aid room, a laboratory, an X-ray unit and a dispensary.
The new building was inaugurated in April 2014 and was able to receive over a hundred patients a day in improved conditions with better quality medical care. The increased quality of care drew private companies from the region to the hospital, enabling it to consolidate its finances and secure the provision of free medical care for children under five. The MCH had to shut down between August and October as a consequence of the Ebola outbreak. Despite the difficulties prevailing in the country, over 200 healthy babies were born after it reopened, with a mortality rate of less than 1%.
The Swiss-Sierra Leone Development Foundation (SSLDF) was founded in 1996. It seeks to enhance and promote the welfare and socio-economic development of vulnerable groups in Sierra Leone. To this end, it provides support to the Magbenteh Community Hospital (MCH) in Makeni.
The Swiss-Sierra Leone Development Foundation (SSLDF)
Population
7.6 million (2017)
Per Capita Income
USD 510/year (2017)
Poverty rate *
53% (2011)
Literacy rate
32% (2016)
Human Development Index
184th out of 189 countries (2018)
Sierra Leone has made considerable progress since the end of the civil war in 2002, consolidating peace, democracy and improving development indicators. The Sierra Leone government has prioritised and implemented reforms aimed at reducing corruption, providing health care and improving transport, power and public health infrastructures. Despite these significant political and socio-economic achievements, infant and maternal mortality rates are among the worst in the world. Poverty is heavily concentrated in the rural and other urban areas around Freetown. Underemployment remains a challenge and is especially acute in rural areas, compounded by a high level of illiteracy. The Ebola outbreak in 2014 added immense pressure to already fragile health systems.
Sources: World Food Program, UNICEF, World Bank, 2016 Human Development Report, Human Development Indices and Indicators (2018 Statistical Update)
*The percentage of the population living below the national poverty line.