Author: Helen Grant OBE MP

Shortly after International Women’s Day in March, I had a welcome opportunity to visit Sierra Leone in West Africa once again. I was one of a small cross-party group of MPs and we were guests of the Coalition for Global Prosperity and the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The CGP brings together a wide coalition of aid supporters, with backgrounds from across the military, faith, business and political communities. The IRC are the lead delivery organisation for the UK Aid funded Saving Lives in Sierra Leone programme.

We were in Sierra Leone to witness the impact of life-changing UK aid projects that are supporting women and girls’ development there. Here are some statistics that paint a picture of the situation:

• 1 in every 31 women under the age of 50 die from preventable illnesses

• Over half of all women aged between 15 and 49 experience intimate physical and / or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.

• And 1 in 20 women die from childbirth or pregnancy, in most cases due to post childbirth blood loss (postpartum haemorrhages). 

The latter is largely as a result of chronic blood shortages in hospitals and this is one of the areas where UK Aid is making a difference. The vast majority of the materials used to collect blood there are funded by the UK government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office.

In Bo, Sierra Leone’s second largest city, we visited the regional hospital where doctors and nurses there emphasised the difference adequate blood storage facilities and other equipment is making for patients. They are now able to carry out vital cross-matching blood tests; essentially these are trial transfusions done in test tubes to see exactly how a patient’s blood will react with potential donor blood. It is a safeguard that, with the support of UK Aid, has dramatically reduced the maternal mortality rate in Sierra Leone to 443 per 100,000 in 2022, compared with 717 per 100,000 in 2019.

 At one rural community health post not far from Bo, we saw a blood donation ‘drive’ which also relies on equipment supplied from UK Aid. Their blood bank supports safe deliveries in the facility’s ‘labour unit’, which is in fact one small room with just two beds that serves a community of over 5,000 people.

Talking with nurses and midwives there I asked about the availability of pain killers (being a mum twice over, regrettably pain is an enduring memory of childbirth for me). They said they can provide a couple of paracetamol but there was nothing else available. No gas and air, pethidine or epidurals.

Nonetheless, the commitment of the brilliant midwives and healthcare workers at the post was clear. They were absolutely determined to offer the best possible care to expectant mothers, despite the challenging circumstances.

The UK government is committed to supporting efforts to end the preventable deaths of mothers, babies and children by 2030. This was a manifesto commitment, it is an International Development Strategy priority, and contributes to delivering the Foreign Secretary’s commitment to women and girls.

Another inspiring experience on this visit was hearing from participants of UK-funded Girls’ Clubs.  These are safe, female-only spaces, where girls can talk openly about their experiences, challenges, and dreams for the future.  Community leaders help mentor and empower the girls, some of whom are already young mothers, providing them with a range of skills to implement into their daily lives. Those same leaders also speak to men in the community, hosting sessions about gender-based violence alongside informative drop-ins. Their work fosters a greater understanding of the advantages of championing women’s economic and social freedoms, helping to counter misogyny and inequality.

In my role as Prime Minister’s Envoy for Girls’ Education, I advocate for 12 years of safe, quality education for every girl, everywhere. The FCDO, as set out in its new Women & Girls Strategy, puts women and girls at the heart of all of its work, to ensure their rights, freedom and potential. During my visit I met with David Sengeh, Minister for Education, where I reiterated the UK’s commitment to this goal in Sierra Leone.  Their Government is embracing the mission too, showing commitment to dismantling barriers to girls’ education, such as poverty, gender, and disability. This is being driven by a ‘Radical Inclusion’ policy, largely authored by Dr Sengeh, which has notably overturned the legal prohibition of pregnant girls from continuing their education.

Our cross-party delegation recently reunited in Parliament, with the CGP and the IRP, where we reflected on our visit and discussed how we could help progress the important work being undertaken. In Sierra Leone, as in many other countries around the world, I have seen how investing in women and girls’ futures is one of the smartest and most effective investments that can be made. The rewards are remarkable, and far-reaching and I remain committed to driving this agenda forward, working with fantastic volunteers, great organisations, enlightened governments and faith in my heart.

This article was first published on LinkedIn.