Parliamentary Visit to Sierra Leone

March 2023

Shortly after International Women’s Day, the Coalition for Global Prosperity and the International Rescue Committee took a cross-party delegation to Sierra Leone to see UK-backed development projects supporting women and girls. We were joined by Helen Grant OBE MP (CON), Alex Davies-Jones MP (LAB) and Dame Caroline Dinenage MP (CON).

The visit focused on the transformative impact of IRC’s Saving Lives Programme, funded by the FCDO, which aims to end the preventable deaths of mothers, adolescents and children in Sierra Leone, while building towards a more resilient healthcare system. In Sierra Leone, this assistance is critical: 1 in every 31 women under the age of 50 die from preventable diseases; 1 in 20 women die from childbirth or pregnancy, in many cases as a result of postpartum haemorrhages; and over half of all women aged between 15-49 experience intimate physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.

The delegation visited Bo Hospital, a blood drive at a community healthcare post near Bo, and a Girls’ Club where girls can talk openly about their experiences, challenges and dreams for the future in a safe, female-only space.

The MPs also met with Sierra Leone’s Vice-President, Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, as well as the Minister for Education, David Sengeh, to discuss the development opportunities and challenges for women and girls in Sierra Leone.