UNICEF working towards abolition of medical fees in Sierra Leone

BO, Sierra Leone (June 8, 2010) — In late April, just after her baby boy was born at Bo Government Hospital in southern Sierra Leone, it was by no means certain that Hawa Barrie would survive to raise him. Barrie, age 40, was suffering from eclampsia, a pregnancy-related complication characterized by seizures and convulsions.

Sister Affiong Inyang, the nurse attending Barrie, said the new mother was in stable condition but would be monitored at the hospital before being sent home. "For now her blood pressure has gone down because the baby has been delivered," she explained.

Dangers of pregnancy

© UNICEF Video

One in eight women in Sierra Leone dies from pregnancy-related complications.

Sierra Leone is one of the most dangerous places on earth to be pregnant. Its health infrastructure was destroyed during the country's decade-long civil war, and many families must travel long distances to reach health facilities. They are often too poor to pay for treatment and, all too frequently, must rely on traditional methods of care during childbirth.
 
The result is that one in eight women in Sierra Leone dies from pregnancy-related complications. In industrialized countries, that risk is only 1 in 8,000.

Dr. Philip Koroma, the only gynecologist in the southern part of Sierra Leone, serves an area comprising roughly 2.5 million people. While scanning a woman on her first visit recently, he could see that she was a week over term; he immediately admitted her for observation and a possible caesarean section.

"I have a lot of work, so I work every day, even on Sundays," he said.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-0700/Asselin

Patients queue to collect prescriptions from a hospital pharmacy in Sierra Leone. In April 2010, the government launched a program abolishing fees for health-care services for pregnant and lactating women and for children under five.

Other negative health indicators, including poor nutrition and the widespread practice of female genital mutilation/cutting, also contribute to complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

"One of the major causes of maternal death is bleeding," said Sister Betty Patema, another health worker at Bo hospital. "You find many patients have anaemia from poor diet, so they bleed and need blood transfusion. If they do not get to the hospital in time, this can even lead to death."

Free health-care policy

In response to this crisis, UNICEF is working with the Government of Sierra Leone and other partners to introduce free health care for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under the age of five. The policy abolishes fees for medical attention and provides drugs and treatments free of charge in every public health facility in the country.

Around 1.2 million mothers and children in Sierra Leone are expected to benefit from the new policy in 2010.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-1039/Asselin

Sierra Leone's President Ernest Bai Koroma (right) greets a woman and her newborn at a hospital in Freetown.

In line with the free health-care policy, Sierra Leone is also working to train a new generation of health-care professionals across the country. Today, however, health workers are still struggling to the meet massive demand for maternal care. As Barrie's case shows, they do whatever they can to save mothers' lives.

Back at Bo hospital, while Barrie recovered under the watchful eye of the nurses, her newborn son was taken for his first vaccines. A day later, she was through the worst of her eclampsia. It was clear that she would survive the complications of her pregnancy.

As Sierra Leone continues to push toward universal free care for its babies and new mothers, more women will have a better chance to live long and healthy lives.

Email