Sierra Leone is an English-speaking country on the west coast of Africa. Similar in size to Ireland, it has a population of 8.8 million.
Famed for its long, sandy beaches, Sierra Leone has a growing tourism industry. It is abundant in natural resources, including iron ore, diamonds, gold and marine resources. There is also good rainfall and agricultural prospects.
However, a legacy of conflict, political division, weak governance and poverty remain. More than half of the population lives below the poverty line. People in Sierra Leone are extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts.
Ireland’s relationship with Sierra Leone
Ireland has been supporting the people of Sierra Leone since 2002. We opened a development programme in 2005. In 2014, Ireland opened an embassy in the capital city Freetown. Our embassy team has further strengthened Ireland's partnerships across the country.
Ireland's work in Sierra Leone has a strong focus on empowering women and girls through increasing gender equality and improving education, nutrition and food security, and governance.
Background
Sierra Leone faces significant economic and development challenges. Services such as education and health lack sufficient funding. Incomes are low and job opportunities, especially for young people, are limited.
Ireland’s work in Sierra Leone is largely focused on supporting women and girls.
Sierra Leone has high rates of gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy. Girls face barriers that prevent them from accessing or completing education. The rates of maternal deaths are among the highest in the world.
Our ambition is that women and girls in Sierra Leone live in and contribute to a more prosperous and equitable society.
Irish Aid's work
Ireland's work in Liberia covers four main areas:
Gender equality
Ireland is delivering transformational gender programmes in Sierra Leone. These programmes help empower women and girls to realise their rights and reach their full potential.
Sierra Leone has passed progressive legislation to promote gender equality, including the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act. However, like many countries, women in Sierra Leone face barriers to engaging in decision-making. There are high rates of violence against women, teenage pregnancy and child marriage.
Promoting gender equality
Ireland’s work is focused on:
- Tackling the underlying factors that lead to inequalities
- Reducing levels of gender-based violence
- Supporting survivors of sexual and gender-based violence
- Empowering women and girls.
Programmes we fund educate women and young girls on sexual and reproductive health and rights. We also work with community leaders, men and boys to change behaviours. Women and girls should play an equal and full part in society, is one of our core beliefs. Changing discriminatory social and gender norms is key.
Women must be free to make decisions at home, in their communities and nationally. We fund programmes that help to empower women to do this.
Nutrition and Food Security
Malnutrition is a real problem in many parts of Sierra Leone. It contributes to high rates of child and maternal mortality, childhood illnesses and poor growth. Ireland supports programmes that tackle child malnutrition and food insecurity. We work with national and international NGOs, UNICEF and the World Food Programme to treat malnourished children and improve child feeding practices by strengthening primary health systems. We support households to grow more nutritious foods.
Our work in this area also looks at the impact of climate change on food production systems, particularly among smallholder farmers. We support farmers to adopt new agro-technologies, which build resilience to changing climate.
Education
Sierra Leone has made progress in getting more children to school, though challenges remain.
Ireland supports the Government of Sierra Leone’s Free Quality School Education (FQSE) programme and its Radical Inclusion Policy to ensure that all children, especially girls have the opportunity of education. This programme aims to improve the education system, teaching practices and learning conditions with over two million pupils benefitting.
We are also supporting efforts to reduce violence in and around school, one of the main barriers to children attending school. Working with local NGOs, Ireland is helping to improve school management and leadership in a number of under-performing schools.
Governance
In 2022, two new laws - the Public Elections Act and the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act - made provision for increased female representation in elected and appointive positions.
Supporting good governance
Ireland supports a number of NGOs, women’s organisations and UN Women to support and promote women to participate in politics and stand for elections.
In the 2023 national and local elections, women filled 30% of elected parliament seats, 34% of local council seats and 55% of elected deputy chairperson/mayor positions. Roughly one-third of Ministers (32%) and Deputy Ministers (38%) were women.
Ireland also supports civil society to promote accountability, human rights and social cohesion.
Case study: Supporting women’s rights in Sierra Leone
Women’s Community Solidarity Groups (WCSGs), supported by Irish Aid, are transforming the lives of thousands of women in Kambia District in Sierra Leone.
The Women's Rights Advocacy Group (WRAG) is one such group, supporting women farmers in accessing land and improving their livelihoods.
Their work is deepening cohesion among women, empowering them and supporting women’s participation in local governance. WRAG is now one of the leading community based organisations in Kambia District.