S I E R R A L E O N E...Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone Mammy Yoko Hotel P.O....

Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone Mammy Yoko Hotel

P.O. Box 1011 Freetown, Sierra Leone

THE REPUBLIC OF

S I E R R A L E O N E

United Nations

Common Country Assessment

In preparation for the

United Nations Development Assistance Framework

2008 – 2010

January 2007

Common Country Assessment – Version: February 22, 2007

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary 3

1 Introduction 6

2 Strategic Analysis 11

3 Key Areas for Cooperation 20

4 Consensus on Priorities for the 2008-2010 UNDAF 24

5 Indicator Framework

5.1 Millennium Development Goals 27

5.2 Major Conventions and Human Rights Instruments 44

5.3 Human Development Indicators 45

Acronyms and Abbreviations 46

References 50

Annexes:

Annex I: Share of Wage or Salary Employment in Non-Agriculture Employment by Region and Sex 52

Annex II: Population Data and Literacy Rates 53

Annex III: Population Distribution by Districts and Sex Ratios 55

Annex IV: Map of Sierra Leone 56

Notes 57


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Executive Summary:

This Common Country Assessment (CCA) for Sierra Leone looks ahead at the 2008-2010 period in preparation for the 2008-2010 United Nations Development Assistance Framework, which is to run concurrently with the 2008-2010 Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS), now under preparation. The CCA follows the revised 2006-2007 UNDAF, which covers the same period as the current PRS. The current CCA process was initiated through an intensive dialogue within the UN Country Team, consultations with UN District Teams, and a high level retreat with Government representatives in July of 2006. These consultations provided a common understanding of the objectives and the phases of the CCA exercise as well as the preparation process for the next UNDAF. The CCA is based on existing studies, surveys and assessments by development partners. The current CCA and UNDAF exercises are linked to an MDG Needs Assessment exercise currently being conducted by the Government and UNCT. This latter assess-ment will provide an indication of the financial and human requirements for Sierra Leone to attain the MDGs by 2015. The MDG Needs assessment will also underpin the PRS for 2008-2010.

The current CCA and the revised UNDAF take into account the mandate for the United Nations Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) established by adoption of Security Council resolution 1620 of 2005. The UNDAF is informed by the PRS and also by the Peace Consolidation Strategy (PCS) developed by Government and UN partners in late 2005 following broad-based and high level consultations. The CCA and UNDAF take account of the commitment by Government to the devolution of power and revenue transfers to the districts, which is supported by integrated UN teams operating at district level. UNIOSIL and UN Agencies in Sierra Leone are guided by a common work plan that specifically focuses on the tasks and targets indicated in Resolution 1620, notably integration, consolidating peace and governance, including capacity building at the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and the Political Parties Regis-tration Commission (PPRC) to conduct free, fair and credible parliamentary and presidential elections in July of 2007.

Sierra Leone has recently been declared eligible for funding from the UN Peace Building Fund and the Government has presented to the Fund priorities in respect of (1) Youth Employment and Em-powerment, (2) Security and Transitional Justice, (3) Democratisation and (4) Civil Service Reform. These priorities therefore further inform this CCA.

Sierra Leone has made significant progress in the transition from a humanitarian emergency to recovery and development as well as in maintaining and progressively consolidating peace since the signing of the peace agreement in 2002. This agreement ended a lengthy, violent and protracted conflict. Much needed humanitarian assistance and emergency relief followed the peace agreement. The transition to recovery and development was accompanied by significant economic recovery: real GDP growth was in the double digits during 2001-2002 and has been around 6%-7% in recent years fuelled by broad re-covery in agriculture, mining construction and the services sectors. This strong growth should be seen against the background of a vastly contracted economy: in real terms the 2004 value of the economy was only three quarters of the 1985 economy. Government and development partners have succeeded in con-verging on a medium term recovery strategy that has focused on the twin macro-economic objectives of sustaining high real growth and maintaining a stable macroeconomic environment.

Concurrent with the economic recovery, strategic governance issues have been addressed which should strengthen the foundations for sustained recovery, such as public sector governance and public sector reform, decentralisation, empowerment and a transparent system of central government transfers to districts, strengthening of the justice sector and strengthened financial management and procurement.

Still, the tangible progress and robust strategies coexist with considerable persistent fragility, in-cluding continuing threats to internal and regional security; challenges to peace and reconciliation; persistent accountability, transparency and corruption issues; weak administration of human rights and the rule of law; economic disempowerment particularly for many women and the youth and significant re-gional inequities and disparities particularly between the rural and urban areas. While much progress has


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also been made in terms of agricultural recovery and production, food security concerns persist with alarmingly high levels of malnutrition in some districts requiring a continued but selective emergency response.

Challenges to consolidation, reconstruction and development are also posed by pervasive unem-ployment, particularly among the youth. Some 70% of the country’s 5.3 million citizens are living below the poverty line and 26% can be classified as extremely poor. Gender inequality is significant at all levels of society. Women have unequal access to health services. The maternal mortality ratio is the highest in the world. Adult literacy rates are low generally but significantly higher for men than for women. Many laws, particularly customary laws which affect the majority of women, are profoundly discriminatory. Women provide the bulk of the agricultural labour force, yet they can not own land. Women are also poorly represented in decision-making bodies at national and local levels. The situation of children in Si-erra Leone is precarious with the worst infant mortality and under-five mortality indicators in the world, high levels of malnutrition and significant protection issues such as child trafficking, domestic abuse and exploitation, low levels of birth registrations and many girls being married before 18 years of age. Al-though primary school enrolments have doubled in the last five years, one third of primary age children including many girls in rural areas are still not in school. Many invisible scars from the recent conflict remain in the form of significant mental health challenges. The conflict traumatised many people throughout Sierra Leone and it may rage on in some people’s minds for years.

Significant challenges in infrastructure rehabilitation and development exist. Access to water and sanitation is still limited. Less than half of the population has access to improved drinking water sources and only one third uses improved sanitation facilities. Electrical power, when available, is only accessible to a fraction of all households. The road system is in a state of disrepair. While recent economic growth has been robust, the reduction of poverty, of food insecurity, or to reduce geographical imbalances and to scale up and to improve service delivery, much higher levels of growth will be needed. Higher growth however, is constrained by the current state of the country’s infrastructure. A further constraint is the weak private sector, in spite of Government support and the pursuit of a Private Sector Development Strategy.

These issues translate into the major challenge that the aspirations, hopes and promises of a better life and a “peace dividend” may not be realised in line with the expectations and its associated time-horizon of the majority of Sierra Leone’s citizens. There is a growing mismatch between the rising ex-pectations of the people, on the one hand, and the significant progress already made and realistically feasible progress in the immediate future, on the other hand. Expectations therefore may outpace what has been accomplished and what is possible. This gap must be bridged by a continued engagement of a wide range of international development partners and by far better public information campaigns. The current document provides details on Sierra Leone’s current international development partners and the evolution of aid flows from 2003-2005, including a significant change-over from humanitarian assistance to devel-opment assistance.

This document also assesses the current situation of Sierra Leone vis-à-vis the Millennium De-velopment Goals (MDG) and the prospects for progress against the targets of the MDG by 2015. The as-sessment groups the MDGs in three categories: (1) Goals difficult to be met: which includes MDG-1, eradicating poverty; MDG-4, reducing child mortality, MDG-5, improving maternal health and MDG-8, developing partnerships for development. The second category (2) comprises Goals likely to be met with special efforts and this category includes MDG-2, achieving universal primary education, MDG-3, pro-moting gender equality and MDG-7, ensuring environmental sustainability. The third category (3) comprises the Goals likely to be met with sustained efforts and includes MDG-6, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

The revised 2005-2007 UNDAF, signed in September 2006, included the following broad out-comes: (1) Transparent, accountable and democratic governance advanced at national and local levels; (2) Increased production, availability, accessibility and utilisation of food, with improved employment op-portunities for youth; (3) Improved health for all citizens, especially women of child-bearing age and


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children under-five years of age; (4) Intensified response for HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support; (5) Strengthened capacity of key national and local institutions for reconciliation, security, improved govern-ance and respect for human rights. The ongoing UNDAF recognises capacity building, gender equality, and youth empowerment as cross-cutting issues.

This assessment also considers the broad outcomes of the ongoing UNDAF highly relevant for the UNDAF for the period 2008-2010. Still, important shifts in emphases and approaches are warranted, particularly with respect to the promotion of youth unemployment and youth empowerment which require greater emphasis. Education was not included in the ongoing UNDAF, given the orientation and resources of other development partners. Considering the significant linkages between education (including both formal and non-formal education, such as remedial, enterprise and vocational skills training) and youth employment, and the elimination of gender inequities, there may be a case to consider how the competi-tive advantage of the UN Agencies can be applied to these critical areas during the next UNDAF. Focused attention to improve the situation of children, particularly vulnerable children, the rural poor and girls, should also be considered. The new UNDAF may also wish to call for greater attention to the situation of human rights, in the form of technical assistance to align national laws with international conventions, particularly with respect to women and children, and human rights reporting generally. The ongoing col-laboration with the UN Country Teams from the other Mano River Union (MRU) countries and Cote d’ Ivoire should be strengthened and intensified during the period of the next UNDAF, particularly with re-spect to youth employment, HIV/AIDS, cross-border management, containment of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and providing support to the MRU Secretariat. Consistent with the con-tinuing and overriding requirement to build capacity at all levels, the 2008-2010 UNDAF should consider a gradual shift towards national execution of programmes in recognition of national ownership and the significantly strengthened management capacity of the Government. This shift should go hand in hand with the improvement of governance arrangements, accountability and a strengthened capacity to monitor and evaluate programmes.

These suggested changes, contained in draft versions of this CCA, have been reviewed in collabo-ration with senior Government officials during December 2006. A thorough review of all the MDGs, a discussion of recent trends and the results of the recently concluded Consultative Group meeting, where the UNCT presented some of the above issues and concerns, resulted in a consensus on new priorities to be considered for 2008-2010. These include: (1) Governance and Human Rights; (2) Shared Growth, Food Security & Livelihoods; (3) Maternal and Child Health Care; (4) Primary Education with special emphasis on Girls Education, and: (5) HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB.

On the basis of these priorities, a provisional core draft UNDAF matrix has been prepared. This draft UNDAF will be further refined during January 2007 and reviewed again with Government col-leagues, donor representatives and Civil Society Organisations later that month. Otherwise, the December Prioritisation Retreat cautioned that 2007 may see significant developments that will need to be taken into account in the next UNDAF and the draft UNDAF should therefore continue to be seen as a “live” docu-ment.

Freetown, December 2006


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1. Introduction:

The Government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) signed a revised United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) on 19 September 2006. The revised UNDAF covers the period 2006-2007, as it is aligned with the country’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) 2005-2007.1

The PRS, in turn, is inspired by Vision 2025, the document wherein the Government sets out its long term development vision “Sweet Salone”, a United People, a Progressive Nation and an Attractive Country.2

The UNDAF evaluation and revision process also took into account the new mandate for the United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) established through the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1620 (2005). The revised UNDAF 2006-2007, the Peace Consolidation Strategy (PCS) and the joint UNIOSIL-UNCT work plan are designed to ensure implementation of UNIOSIL’s mandate as outlined in the resolution.3

The 2006-2007 UNDAF therefore focuses on peace consolidation and the transition to sustainable development. It aims to achieve greater synergy and a precise focus of the programmes and projects sup-ported by the UN Agencies. In the spirit of the Paris Declaration on Harmonisation, it also seeks to reduce the transaction costs associated with programme implementation.4

Specifically, the 2006-2007 UNDAF focuses on outcomes that are explicitly related to the pillars of the PRSP as depicted in the following table:

Sierra Leone’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Pillars 1 2 3 PROMOTE GOOD

GOVERNANCE, SECURITY AND PEACE

BUILDING

PROMOTE PRO-POOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

FOR FOOD SECURITY AND JOB CREATION

PROMOTE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

(1) Transparent, accountable and democratic governance

advanced at national and local levels.

(3) Improved health for all citizens, especially

women of child-bearing age and children under-

five years of age. (5) Strengthened capacity of

key national and local institu-tions for reconciliation, secu-

rity, improved governance and respect for human rights.

(2) Increased production, availability, accessibility and

utilisation of food, with improved employment opportunities for youth.

(4) Intensified response for HIV/AIDS

prevention, care and support.

UNDAF Outcomes

Cross-cutting issues: capacity building; gender equality, vulnerable persons, children and youth empowerment.

PREAMBLE UNDAF 2006-2007 The United Nations Country Team supports Sierra

Leone’s national effort, led by the Government, to improve the lives of its citizens, especially the poorest and the most vulnerable.

We shall work closely with the Government and other development partners to sustain the process of consolida-tion of the peace, reconciliation and the transition to sustainable development and poverty reduction.

In pursuing this goal, we shall encourage the participation of civil society, the empowerment of local communities and the promotion of the rights of all Sierra Leoneans, particularly women and children, who so often have been the victims of violence and abuse. We will ensure the transparent and accountable use of the resources made available to us for this purpose.

Our collective aspiration is to assist the people of Sierra Leone in their quest for a future that is free of violence and extreme poverty, and one that offers equality, dignity and opportunity for a decent livelihood for all.


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The road from peace in 2002 to the 2006-2007 UNDAF included many significant changes in strategy and organisation by the UN System in response to the changing nature of the peace process. During 2003-2004 the focus of the UN System in Sierra Leone gradually shifted from humanitarian issues to recovery and development. The period was also a transition phase from peace keeping to peace build-ing. The Consolidated Appeal for 2004 still focused on programmes for emergency relief needs and immediate recovery requirements, such as support to 70,000 Liberian refugees and host communities; the promotion of, and support to the voluntary repatriation of 30,000 Sierra Leonean citizens as well as com-munity based recovery. During this period, UNAMSIL and the UNCT collaborated closely to ensure a seamless transition, bearing in mind the scaling down of UNAMSIL and the transition to UNIOSIL.

The transition period also saw the departure of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA). OCHA was initially established in Sierra Leone in 1995 as a project of UNDP. It evolved into an independent office providing coordination services to the humanitarian community with offices in Bo, Kailahun, Kenema, Kono and Makeni, Recovery progress led to the decision that OCHA would transfer its core services to Government, UNCT and NGOs in anticipation for its withdrawal in 2004. OCHA assisted the UNCT, NGOs and partners to develop a transition strategy.

The joint transition plan was adopted in 2004 and identified priority tasks to be implemented during 2005, such as national capacity-building, strengthening national ownership and ensuring the Gov-ernment’s lead in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes in key areas. The plan also aimed at ensuring the Government’s focus on addressing the root causes of the conflict, requiring far-reaching reforms in critical areas such as the justice sector, including the independence of the judiciary, and the penal system. Other priority areas included in the plan concerned the security sector, promoting good governance, strengthening and promoting anti-corruption efforts, as well as restoring public ser-vices. The plan also provided a framework for the continued involvement of the international community in Sierra Leone following the withdrawal of UNAMSIL. A review of the Transition Plan, conducted in October 2005, indicated encouraging results pointing to the successful completion of initiatives that the United Nations system in Sierra Leone had set for itself in order to ensure sustained peace and security, consolidate State authority and promote good governance and human rights, address cross-border issues and advance national recovery, thus laying the foundation for further post-conflict peace building work.

In 2005, the then ongoing 2004-2006 was reviewed.5 The radical changes from the recovery-oriented phase in which the UNDAF was conceived in 2002/2003 caused a strong need to review and adapt the framework to better serve the UNCT in the development phase. Overall, the review noted that the UN’s work is relevant to Sierra Leone and that the UNCT has realised significant synergies. Still, the review noted that there was more scope for the UNDAF process to be used as a means to clarify joint ob-jectives, to monitor progress and to inform adjustments in a rapidly evolving environment. Specifically, the review noted that the UNDAF could empower the UNCT to: (1) accelerate programme implementa-tion to ensure a sustainable transition to development; (2) clarify the UN’s common strategic priorities and how it aims to jointly implement its programmes; (3) communicate its priorities and plans to the Government, its partners and the public at large, and (4) transform attitudes within the UN System in Si-erra Leone to shift from recovery to development.

In late 2005, the Peace Consolidation Strategy was also agreed upon after extensive consultations. It established the context for the ongoing 2006-2007 UNDAF and it will continue to inform the directions of the 2008-2010 UNDAF. The Strategy is based on a series of broad-based consultations between Gov-ernment and the United Nations in late 2005. These consultations were assisted by the UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) and the Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA), the UN’s De-partments of Political Affairs (DPA), of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), and for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the UN Development Group Office (UNDGO), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UNICEF and the UN Country Team (UNCT).


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The Peace Consolidation Strategy reflects the priority tasks outlined in resolution 1620. It takes into full account other long-term national programmes, in particular the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) and prioritises and supports the building of national capacities for the prevention, management, and resolution of potentially violent threats. In that respect, while the PRS provides the building blocks for achieving poverty reduction and sustainable development, the PCS aims to provide the necessary condi-tions within which the PRS can be implemented by consolidating and sustaining peace and stability, building and strengthening national institutions of democratic governance. The PCS also seeks to promote national reconciliation and the building of trust through effective communication, dialogue and attitudinal changes that would strengthen the resolve of the people of Sierra Leone to continue to choose peace. The PCS analyses the main threats still facing Sierra Leone and proposes a number of specific programme interventions for priority support by UNIOSIL and the UNCT, as well as other partners.

This Common Country Assessment (CCA) 2008-2010 also takes into account the evolving con-sensus between Government and development partners (working together in the Development Partnership Committee, DEPAC) as well as background documents and survey data that have recently become avail-able. Specifically, account has been taken of the analyses and recommendations reflected in the World Bank’s 2005 Country Assistance Strategy (CAS)6 and in the Joint EC/DfID Strategy Paper for Sierra Leone (JCSP).7 The CCA is therefore largely based on existing surveys, background documents, planning documents of partners, the progress reports of the PRS and the progress reports prepared for the Novem-ber 2006 Consultative Group meeting in Sierra Leone.

The dialogue with Government to prepare for the CCA/UNDAF process was initiated with a two day retreat during July of 2006.8 The objectives were to: (1) Achieve a common understanding between Government and UNCT on objectives and phases of the CCA-exercise as well as the preparation process of the UNDAF; (2) Achieve an understanding of how key issues and developments such as UN Reform and the Human Rights Based Approach to Programming affect the CCA/UNDAF exercise; (3) Jointly assess the comparative advantage of the UN in Sierra Lone to meet national priorities; (4) Achieve an agreement on active involvement and support of both UNCT and Government to conduct the CCA/UNDAF exercise, and: (5) Agree on a jointly owned timetable for the CCA/UNDAF exercise.

The consensus that emerged indicates that the objectives of the retreat were fully met. Specific considerations that should guide the CCA/UNDAF process, arising from the exchange of views with Government colleagues, comprise the following:

9 The UN should increasingly transfer capacity to Government to ensure ownership of the development process;

9 There is scope for enhanced coordination and Government welcomes UN assistance in helping to enhance this coordination;

9 The UN system is well placed to provide support for capacity building, advocate in the area of Human Rights issues, to assist with enhancing good governance and to assist with peace consolidation;

9 On Human Rights, it was also agreed that all UN programmes are to be guided by the uni-versally accepted human rights; that there is scope for enhancing human rights awareness among the population at large; that food security is very much a human rights issue; that the UNDAF should be a strategic plan for the implementation of a human rights based ap-proach to programming. Equally, the promotion of civil responsibility is an important complimentary aspect of human rights;

9 The CCA should have a distinct analytical phase and assess whether information was perti-nent, precise and up-to-date. This phase should also address critical information gaps and ways, means and time-frames to generate the required information;


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9 On the UNDAF, it was agreed that there was a need for realistic and measurable outcomes; roles of different partners in achieving the various outcomes should be detailed in the ma-trix and the UNDAF outcomes should be harmonised with national priorities and with the country programme outcomes.

Pursuant to this July retreat, Government and its development partners are currently undertaking a comprehensive needs assessment exercise which will give an indication of what it will take for Sierra Leone to attain the MDGs by 2015, in terms of interventions (by sector), financial resource requirements and institutional and human capacity requirements. This MDG Needs Assessment (MDGNA)9 will also underpin the PRS for 2008-2010. The basic objective of the exercise is to ensure that donors and other development partners anchor their interventions to the PRS. The preparation of this CCA document and the analysis of challenges vis-à-vis the various MDGs are closely linked to the MDG Needs Assessment as the resulting UNDAF 2008-2010 will specifically support the 2008-2010 PRS. Additionally, the Gov-ernment is desirous to use the information from the MDGNA to formulate a five-year medium term strategy, covering the period 2008-2012, which will focus on Growth and Poverty Reduction. The first three years of this strategy will then become the PRS 2008-2010. The CCA analysis will lead to an UN-DAF to be signed off by the beginning of 2007. However, this will naturally be an evolving framework that will take on board other issues and considerations that might come up during the preparation of the 2008-2010 PRS or within the context of the ongoing MDGNA.

As also agreed at the July retreat, this CCA has been extensively shared in draft with technical specialists from line Ministries, civil society representatives and other development partners. Specifically, the Development Assistance Coordination Office (DACO) facilitated a joint forum for the review of the draft CCA in the form of a special Pillar Working Group meeting on 7 November.10 The comments from this review have been incorporated in this final version of the assessment. Similarly, the results of the Prioritisation Retreat that the Government and UN agreed to hold on 4 December 2006, to prioritise the outcomes for the 2008-2010 UNDAF, have now been included in this assessment.

This CCA anticipates a UNDAF for the period 2008-2010 to run concurrently with the 2008-2010 Poverty Reduction Strategy, which is currently being prepared and which will be finalised during 2007. This CCA therefore, takes stock of the challenges facing Sierra Leone at the end of 2006. Given the funding through the Peace Building Commission (PBC) expected to commence disbursements in early 2007, the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in July 2007, the preparation of the 2008-2010 PRS, and the need for orderly planning for a post-UNIOSIL era, significant changes in context are anticipated that will require an ongoing adjustment of the UNDAF during 2007.

The current assessment also envisages further integration of the UN System in Sierra Leone as mandated in resolution 1620, which established UNIOSIL, the United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra Leone. Since its adoption in August 2005, significant progress has been made in integrating the work of UNIOSIL with programmes of other UN Agencies present in Sierra Leone. Apart from the Peace Con-solidation Strategy, there is a common work plan that encompasses the mandate of UNIOSIL as well as programmes and projects agreed in the 2005-2007 UNDAF. The common work plan specifically focuses on tasks and targets indicated in Resolution 1620, notably consolidating peace and governance, including building capacity at the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC) to conduct free, fair and credible parliamentary and presidential elections in 2007. Other areas mandated in the resolution and reflected in the work plan are security, human rights and the rule of law, economic and social development and communication for peace and development. There are weekly meetings chaired by the Executive Representative of the Secretary General (ERSG), comprising UN Agency heads and the heads of the various sections of UNIOSIL. There is also a common security and communication system for all UN staff in Sierra Leone. The integrated approach is summarised in the report “UN Reform: Alive in Sierra Leone”, which outlines the strategic framework of the integration, the pursuit of common programmatic objectives, the consensus on cross-cutting issues, the need to be guided


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by a common communication strategy, the strengthening of partnerships, the provision of common ser-vices and the further strengthening of the Office of the Resident Coordinator.11

Following the devolution of power to the districts, the UN has established United Nations District Teams (UNDTs) that bring together operational and programme staff of various agencies within one group and common premises in most districts to assist the capacity building of the District Councils. This strategy, to ensure an integrated and effective operational presence of the United Nations throughout Si-erra Leone, will be further strengthened during 2007 and during the period of the next UNDAF (2008-2010). Specifically, by early 2008, UNIOSIL may complete its mandate (currently expected to be ex-tended through December 2007) and withdraw. The Government has already indicated the considerable importance it attaches to a continued integrated modality of operations beyond the mandate of UNIOSIL.

An assessment of the situation beyond the elections, hopefully culminating in an exit strategy re-quired for the post-UNIOSIL era is expected during the third quarter of 2007 and its outcomes and recommendations will be reflected in the evolving 2008-2010 UNDAF.


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2. Strategic Analysis:

Sierra Leone emerged in 2002 from a lengthy, violent and protracted conflict. Since that time, peace has been maintained and peace has been consolidated. Parliamentary and presidential elections have taken place in 2002. Pursuant to the adoption of the Local Government Act (LGA, 2004), devolving significant power to the country’s districts,12 local government elections were held. The Government has restored its authority throughout the country.

The Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme has been completed. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has completed its work and a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has been established. Much needed humanitarian assistance and development as-sistance has since also become available and significant progress has been made in establishing transpar-ent structures through which greater coherence in the programming and disbursing of funds is being achieved, in line with the country’s priorities. The National Electoral Commission (NEC) has been re-structured as an impartial institution and a Political Party Registration Commission (PPRC) has been es-tablished. National elections are scheduled for July 2007 and a number of significant issues still need to be resolved through political dialogue and consensus ahead of these elections.

In spite of these gains, considerable fragility persists. The previously cited Peace Consolidation Strategy (PCS) identified six broad threats still facing Sierra Leone:

1) Continuing challenges to internal security exist as well as insecurity emanating from a still turbulent sub-region. This category includes the dysfunctional justice system which inhibits access to justice for many of the country’s citizens. The judiciary has significant capacity constraints in terms of logistics, mobility, basic infrastructure and training. Otherwise, it is prone to political interference and corruption. The traditional (chieftaincy-based) system of justice operating in the rural areas in parallel with the modern (common law) system, and which handles an estimated 80% of legal disputes submitted for adjudication in these areas, is male-dominated, prone to unfairness and marked by a perceptible lack of transparency and accountability. Another challenge to security is posed by the process of rebuilding the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) force, particularly with respect to its capacities for the prevention of vio-lence, to defuse mass expressions of public grievance, and to resolve local tensions. While much progress has been made in rebuilding the force, challenges relating to lack of experi-enced and skilled personnel in middle and lower ranks as well as in specialized policing areas remain. Other concerns include the real and perceived reports of corruption within the police force and the absence of a mechanism to address allegations of police wrong-doing. Simi-larly, much progress has been made in rebuilding and re-defining the role of the army, the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) which has been placed under civilian con-trol since the end of the war. Fears remain however that low remuneration, untenable living conditions for soldiers, and a lack of basic communications equipment could seriously un-dermine the capacity of the force to provide effective external security and that these issues also affect the morale of its members, thereby presenting a security challenge for the State. Sierra Leone’s security is directly affected by the sub-regional security situation in the wider Mano River basin sub-region, comprising Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, plus Cote d’ Ivoire. While Liberia has made significant progress in the stabilization of that country, a pro-tracted impasse remains in the resolution of the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire and potential instability in Guinea could pose security threats to Sierra Leone. The unresolved territorial issue be-tween Guinea and Sierra Leone over the border village of Yenga in the eastern part of Sierra Leone remains a flashpoint.

2) Serious challenges to a national dynamic of reconciliation remain. Political parties seem will-ing to utilise confrontational mobilisation and denial of political space for opponents as


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means for political competition. UNIOSIL has recently succeeded in having the parties agree to a Code of Conduct to help curb this tendency. Traditionally, Sierra Leone has used a con-stituency-based electoral system, but in recent years has used a system of proportional representation as an interim measure. The return to the previous system has not been accom-panied by public education. A broad lack of understanding of the implications of this return to a constituency based electoral system may affect the elections. Otherwise, the media re-main prone to sensational and inflammatory reporting. Given high levels of illiteracy, unstructured radio programmes particularly may hamper a broad understanding of issues and reconciliation.

3) The lack of a momentum for accountability is comprised chiefly and foremost by endemic corruption which remains the foremost challenge to the effective performance of state institutions, and hence the single biggest contributor to the growing public alienation from the political process. This issue is directly linked to the weak judiciary as measures to combat corruption and ensure accountability require inter alia an independent and effectively func-tioning judiciary. While much progress is still needed to ensure successful prosecution of corruption offences, additional efforts are also needed to prevent these offences from taking place in the first instance. Inadequate public service salaries are widely seen as a contribu-tory factor to corruption. Given recent inflation and the resulting high cost of living in Sierra Leone, salaries of US$80 per month for mid-level civil servants are utterly insufficient. This issue is compounded as the Government’s hands are tied to increase salaries by caps on pub-lic expenditure agreed with the IMF. Otherwise, a weak system of public information and a limited culture among public officials to account for their actions, play a significant role. This, coupled with the above-cited inflammatory tendency of the media, further impedes a proper and broad understanding of issues.

4) Insufficient respect for human rights and the rule of law is also covered in the Peace Consolidation Strategy. As noted elsewhere in this document, the root causes of the conflict have still not yet been fully addressed and serious human rights issues remain. These include human rights abuses committed during the war, including reparations for victims, particularly women, war-affected children and amputees. This situation is compounded by the continuing absence of a national framework for the protection and promotion of human rights in accor-dance with international human rights norms and standards. Rule of law issues relate to the proper application of the law in the justice system, but also to the challenges to have citizens again accept their obligation to respect the rule of law.

5) A widespread sense of economic disempowerment stems from the massive unemployment and from the perception that the State is yet to take focused steps to stimulate economic ac-tivity through either direct employment creation or through the stimulation of private enterprise. As a result, current unemployment, particularly among the youth is estimated at 60%-70%. Some 70% of the country’s 5.3 million citizens are living below the poverty line and 26% can be classified as extremely poor. Youth unemployment and underemployment is a key priority for both young people themselves and for the Government of Sierra Leone. A recent Youth and Employment Study found that over three quarters of young people (15 to 34 year olds) worked in the agricultural sector, with around 60 percent of the working 15 to 24 year olds and 40 percent of the 25 to 34 year olds being unpaid. The low productivity and incomes in the agricultural sector have exacerbated the migration of youths to cities and urban areas to seek employment opportunities. Most of the youths still remain unemployed and have joined the ranks of the urban poor. Focus groups from the Youth and Employment Study found that, while some youth would like increased skill development training (especially in areas such as business development), they tend to experience a gap between skills and available resources: they are trained but lack the tools to practice their trade, there


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is no demand for their skills in their community, they lack resources to start their own business, or they lack resources in order to be certified to exercise their trade (for example, drivers).13

6) Finally, the Peace Consolidation Strategy also points to the lack of a national infrastructure for peace as a distinct challenge. The country suffers from a lack of capacity for mediation at all levels of government and society. Basic skills and institutional mechanisms for construc-tive negotiation and mediation are lacking in practically all public institutions, and in political and civic organizations. Apart from a new programme at the University of Sierra Leone, such skills do not form a part of primary, secondary or university curricula, informal education or professional training programmes. In the absence of these capacities, even modest disputes can spiral into significant tensions or violence.

Gender inequality in Sierra Leone, which is significant and pervasive, constitutes another indica-tor and cause of the persistent fragility of the country’s predicament. Women in Sierra Leone have unequal access to basic health services and unequal opportunities for the protection, promotion and maintenance of health. This particularly applies to women of child bearing age (15-49 years) who make up around one fourth of the total population. This is illustrated by one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world at 1,800 per 100,000 live births. The adult literacy rate for men stood at 45.3% in 2004 compared to 22.6% for women. The youth literacy rates show a smaller but still marked difference with 59% for men and 35.2% for women. Women’s legal status in Sierra Leone is complex but to a large ex-tent the laws of the country discriminate sharply against women. The country is governed by a Constitution that prohibits the promulgation of discriminatory laws. However, Section 27 of the Constitu-tion is ambivalent as discriminatory laws might be permissible with respect to “adoption, marriage, divorce, burial, devolution of property on death or other interests of personal law.”14 Existing legislation is profoundly discriminatory as for instance the Matrimonial Act of 1960 and the Citizen’s Act of 1973.15 Customary law also discriminates against women. Although unwritten, it applies to the majority of the population. It regards women as “chattels” to be inherited. Women also provide the bulk of the agricul-tural labour force, yet they can not own land and whatever user rights they may acquire, are lost upon the death of their husbands. Women are also poorly represented in decision-making bodies at the national and local level, with 14.3% representation at the Cabinet Ministers level, 15.3% of Parliamentarians and 10.9% of Local Government Councillors. Gender-based violence (GBV) is common and surrounded by a “culture of silence”. Available statistics therefore probably do not fully reflect the extent of violence per-petrated against women.

The Government is clearly aware of these many inequities affecting women and significant steps have been taken to address gender inequality. The country signed CEDAW in 1988 without reservations. It acceded to the Optional CEDAW Protocol in 2000. A comprehensive combined second and fifth CE-DAW report has been prepared and has been validated at various levels, local and national, to present the findings to a representative section of the population to ensure that the findings are true and reflective of the situation of women in Sierra Leone. Important new legislation has already been drafted, addressing the situation of women, such as the Registration of Customary Marriages and Divorce Act, Intestate Suc-cession Act, and the Domestic Violence Act. The draft CEDAW report and the draft legislation now need to be brought before the Cabinet and Parliament for discussion, enactment, amendment or approval. Much of the advocacy to achieve this agenda is led by the Network of Women Ministers and Parliamentarians (NEWMAP) in Sierra Leone.

Issues related to gender equality, HIV/AIDS and reproductive health have repeatedly been em-phasised in international forums as cornerstones of a human rights based approach to population and de-velopment issues. In this connection, the Cairo Consensus can be mentioned, the Programme of Action following the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the 2000 Millen-nium Summit and the 2005 World Summit. The Government, in collaboration with UNIOSIL has also


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agreed to set up a Task Force for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

The situation of the 2.3 million children living in Sierra Leone (49% of the total population are under the age of 18) is still precarious and illustrative of the massive tasks facing the Government and the international partners. Although the vaccination coverage showed important progress (76% for measles and 63% for DPT3), infant mortality and under-five mortality respectively at 170 and 286 per 1000 live births remain the highest in the world. The main reasons are extreme poverty and a severe environment combined with the fact that all diseases are present in Sierra Leone in particular malaria, the leading cause of death of children under age 5. If current trends persist, it is estimated that 74,000 children will die over the next five years from preventable malnutrition.16 More than three in ten children (31%) under-five years of age in Sierra Leone are moderately underweight and nine percent are classified as severely un-derweight. Forty percent of children are stunted or too short for their age and nine percent are wasted or too thin for their height.17 Forty-seven percent of children under six are estimated to have vitamin A defi-ciency (VAD), and approximately 40,000 children born each year suffer from mental impairments caused by iodine deficiency.18 The 2005 MICS stressed the urgent need to integrate child survival issues in the country’s strategic approach Child trafficking is also an issue of concern.19 Only 48% of children are registered at birth, a violation of the provisions of the International Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) as well as a violation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child,20 that every child has the right to a name and a nationality and the right to protection from being deprived of his or her identity. The issue is of particular concern in the North, where only 29% of births are registered.21 Child marriage is also a violation of human rights, compromising the development of girls. The 2005 MICS found that 26% of girls were married before 15 years of age. 62% were married before age 18. The draft of Sierra Leone’s Child Rights Bill would make marriage below the age of 18 illegal and would bring Sierra Leone’s laws in line with the CRC. The practice of polygyny is widespread: 43% of women inter-viewed during the MICS205 reported their husband/partner having another wife.22 Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is common: 94% of women between the ages of 15 to 49 years reported to have under-gone some form of FGM or Cutting.23

The national HIV seroprevalence rate is 1.53%. However, HIV-prevalence in antenatal care clinics is 3.4% pointing in the direction of the importance of addressing the Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission. (PPTCT). Only 25% of identified HIV-positive pregnant women have access to Anti-Retroviral (ARV) prophylaxis and less than 1% of HIV-exposed or infected children are receiving Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART). Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission (PPTCT) is a priority issue and during the past year, UN and partners have increased the number of sites for this treatment from 19 to 90 and further expansion is planned in the near future. The surveys that were conducted did however reveal a very low level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and the risks of infection. Prevention efforts and awareness creation among the population, particularly the young adults, are therefore key challenges. A “Road Map” for Universal Access to prevention, treatment, care and support is in place.

Overall school enrolment improved dramatically between 2002 and 2005.24 Only 40% of primary age students were in school in 2002. This had increased to around 70% in 2005. The Gross Enrolment Ratio’s (GER) for the different schooling levels showed equally impressive gains: the primary school GER increased from 89% to 162% during the period 2001/2002 to 2004/2005. The Junior Secondary School (JSS) GER increased from 23% to 44% during the same period. The Senior Secondary School (SSS) GER increased from 7% to 14% and the Tertiary GER increased from 2% to 4%. The 2005 MICS again underlined that education is a vital prerequisite for combating poverty, empowering women, pro-tecting children from hazardous and exploitative labour and sexual exploitation, promoting human rights and democracy, protecting the environment and influencing population growth. The gender parity index shows an encouraging situation at the primary level with a nearly equivalent enrolment rate for girls and boys.25 However, there still are about 30% of children of primary age that do not attend school. Reasons for this phenomenon are largely economic: while there is free primary education since 2003, there are


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many hidden costs that parents cannot meet. At JSS level, particularly in the rural areas, distance to the schools becomes the dominant reason for not having students in school. The over-aged problem persists: almost 40% of children in primary school are over-aged. It should also be noted that while around 1 million children are in primary schools, only 225,000 are in secondary schools. The quality of education is also low and in-service training for teachers is extremely limited. In that regard, educational policy should be intensified including effective coordination mechanisms at all levels

Many invisible scars from the recent conflict remain as well in the form of significant mental health challenges. The conflict traumatised many people throughout Sierra Leone and it may rage on in some people’s minds for years.26 A survey by WHO in Sierra Leone in 200227 reportedly found that 2% of the population was psychotic; 4% had severe depression; 4% had substance misuse; 1% had mental retardation, and 1% had epilepsy. WHO advocated the creation of community based mental health ser-vices. A preliminary mental health assessment exercise in January 2004 conducted by International Medi-cal Corps (IMC) in Kailahun found high numbers of people suffering from serious mental health problems or substance abuse. Many patients had been ill and untreated for years. The survey indicated problems such as self-neglect, social exclusion, and stigmatisation. Other findings indicated that most patients were young men, either returning refugees from Guinea or Liberia or former combatants. They were estimated to be easy potential recruits for criminal activities and were seen as elements of instability in their respective communities. While more recent data may give a different picture, it may be assumed that the overall challenges of the “undefined burden” (the economic and social burden for families and communities) and the “hidden burden” (the burden associated with stigma and violations of human rights and freedoms) of mental health problems in Sierra Leone must be considerable.28 The country has ex-tremely limited means to deal with these challenges as it has only one qualified psychiatrist and one quali-fied psychiatric nurse. The Kissy Mental Hospital is the only psychiatric facility in Sierra Leone and it suffers from many weaknesses such as years of neglect, inadequate staff and insufficient medications. There are no other psychiatric services available in any of the other hospitals in Sierra Leone. The only out-patient mental health service in the country is the private clinic of the country’s only psychiatrist.29

Significant challenges in infrastructure also still need to be overcome. Access to water and sani-tation is still limited. Less than half of the population in Sierra Leone (47%) has access to improved drinking water sources; 32% in the rural areas against 84% in the urban areas. It is also worth noting that around 35% of the population use surface water. One third of the total population uses improved sanita-tion facilities; 17% in rural areas and 84% in urban areas. A factor of concern is that the proportion of population with no sanitation access at all appears on the increase. From a public health point of view, inadequate disposal of human excreta, poor personal hygiene and unsafe drinking water are associated with a wide range of diseases, such as diarrhoeal diseases, polio, cholera, typhoid, trachoma and schistosomiasis. Urgent strategies are required to develop improved water sources and sanitation facilities and raise public awareness on good hygiene practices.

Electrical power, when available, is only accessible to very few households. The road system is still in a significant state of disrepair. Without adequate infrastructure, the economic growth needed to create more jobs and greater economic wealth will be very difficult. The public service has improved but still shows significant governance and accountability weaknesses, also due to the significant number of qualified citizens that left the country during the conflict. The country is thus severely limited to meet minimally accepted standards of services, jobs, food security and access to facilities that a modern state ought to be able to provide to its citizens.

Economic growth since the end of the conflict has been significant and robust. The economy grew by 9.3% in 2003, 7.4% in 2004 and is expected to remain within the 6%-8% range during the period 2005-2008. The level of exports of goods and services in 2004 has nearly attained the 1994 level. Agri-cultural production has recovered significantly from 2002 levels with rice production increasing by 31%, maize by 140%, cassava by 155%, sweet potatoes by 321% and groundnuts by 70%.30 Still, given the rate of growth of the population, current overall economic growth levels are merely sufficient to keep the


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number of poor people from expanding. To reduce poverty, to reduce or eliminate food insecurity, to re-duce geographical imbalances and to improve service delivery, significantly higher levels of growth will be needed. Higher growth is constrained by the current state of the country’s infrastructure and by the ab-sence of a sufficiently enabling climate to induce private sector investment and growth. There is thus the distinct challenge that the aspirations, hopes and promises of a better life may not be fully realised in line with the expectations of the majority of Sierra Leone’s citizens. There is a discernable and growing mis-match between the rising expectations of the people and the significant progress that has already been made. Expectations outpace what has been accomplished and there is thus a need to bridge this gap. It is therefore essential that the international community should remain fully engaged and that there should be a conscious effort to deepen, broaden and diversify the policy dialogue between the Government, the United Nations system, the International Financial Institutions (IFI’s) and a wide range of other interna-tional partners.

Some of the underlying causes of the conflict, such as marginalisation of the rural communities, women and the youth, still persist. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission did identify the marginali-sation of youth as one of the chief factors that contributed to the persistence and violence of the recent civil war. Youth unemployment is currently still the single most pressing issue in Sierra Leone. One third of the population of the country are youths. Two third of youths are unemployed. Surveys have indicated that youths aged between 15 and 24 are among the poorest of the poor. Addressing youth unemployment is a vital challenge that needs to be dealt with effectively and early to ensure that stability in Sierra Leone is sustained. The marginalisation and social exclusion of youths is also an overriding issue that may se-verely affect the attainment of all the Millennium Development Goals, particularly the MDG related to poverty reduction and increased food security.

The Government is now seeking additional funding for a Youth Employment Scheme (YES) which currently has a shortfall of US$18 million. (The Government and UNDP together have already committed just under US$10 million). While the YES is designed as a short-term solution, the problem of youth unemployment cannot be resolved, in a sustainable fashion, without more robust economic growth and without due attention to youth empowerment.

Disturbing weaknesses persist in the administration of justice and in terms of access to a justice system that works transparently. Major weaknesses identified include out-of-date laws and procedures, the overcrowding of prisons, delays in the courts, an absence of adequate juvenile justice provision, lack of mechanisms that facilitate access to justice for the poor and the vulnerable, the (already mentioned) lack of connection between community and police operations and inefficient use of limited resources.31 Human rights abuses, particularly domestic violence, are often not addressed and victims have, in practice, no access to redress.

While great progress has been made in devolving authority and resources to the districts, significant weaknesses in capacity remain to deliver essential services, both at the national and local level. As a post-conflict country, the critical need remains to combine peace consolidation with wide political participation, respect for human rights and security. The requirement to strengthen the democratisation process, through greater political participation especially of marginalised groups of women and marginalised youths, remains therefore a dominant and daunting challenge. The gap between expectations and reality needs to be managed through effective public information campaigns and where needed by the inflow of additional external resources. If left unaddressed, this gap, the alarming levels of youth unemployment and disaffection, the difficulties of increasing economic output and the weaknesses in governance and accountability, remain serious risks to the peace building and peace consolidation process.


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Sierra Leone Aid Flows

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

2003 2004 2005

Mill

ion

US

Dol

lars

Development Humanitarian

Aid flows have increased substantially since 2003 and there has been a noticeable shift in favour of development oriented assistance, as distinct from humanitarian assistance and food aid.32

In 2005, about 48% of all external assistance came from the European Commission and EU Member States. The UN System provided 16%, the World Bank 14%, the IMF and African Development Bank 7% each and the USA just over 6%. Assistance from other donors such as the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Arabic Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and Japan are relatively small but this may grow to more substantial flows in the future. No assistance from China is on record and this too may grow significantly in the future. No development assistance is on record from Russia and modest humanitarian assistance was provided by Canada in 2003. Substantial OPEC assistance is on record for 2004.33

Data on donor aid flows is col-lected and coordinated by the Develop-ment Aid Coordination Office (DACO) in the Office of the Vice President. Other developmentally relevant information is available in the form of the Sierra Leone Encyclopaedia (Sierra Leone Information System or SLIS), which will be trans-ferred to Statistics Sierra Leone. The lat-ter office is leading work on establishing a National Database on MDG informa-tion, utilising advanced statistical tools such as Redatam+SP.34 Indicators gener-ated by these tools can be transferred to DEVINFO or Salinfo (Sierra Leone’s adaptation of DEVINFO); software specifically adapted to enable tracking of the progress against the MDG indicators in specific countries. Government officials and UN staff members have already been trained in the use of Salinfo.

The Government has repeatedly stressed the importance of better aid coordination (July 2006 Retreat; PRSP Annual Progress Report). Government and development partners have also come together I a committee to review the application of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness at the country level.

The UN Country Team will actively liaise with the Government on the early institutionalisation, roll-out, management and further support for Salinfo and the National Database on Human Development indicators. In the context of this policy dialogue, some important principles of aid coordination that have been learned elsewhere should be incorporated. Among these principles are the following:

9 National ownership is paramount. Systems should correspond to national priorities.

9 Keep systems relatively simple and relevant to key national issues such as the tracking of PRSP or MFET targets, or MDG achievements;

9 Make sure the system is a win-win proposition for all participants: it should be web-based, all line ministries should be involved as well as all the donors. Donor input should be decentral-ised (donors will input their own data within a common format) to facilitate data entry and data validation;

9 Where web-based access is not feasible, special arrangements are needed to keep all levels of Government in the loop, particularly the local communities;

9 Systems should be capable of not only capturing grant information, but also loans and distin-guish clearly effective disbursement levels against grant-pledges and loan-agreements;

9 Systems should capture all aid flows, including direct transfers from donors to civil society organisations;


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9 The system should allow for the elimination of double counting of aid flows by tracking aid from source to final beneficiaries: intermediate “donors” should thus be shown as intermedi-aries between donors and implementing organisations, not as donors;

9 Systems should have powerful analytical and reporting modules.

Given extensive experience with aid management and tracking systems, it is recommended that Government and development partners come together on a clear development path for a national system that is compatible with the local IT-environment, that is consistent with existing management capacities and that takes on board the many lessons learned in other countries and which have been shared through numerous regional workshops.35

Sierra Leone’s recent past has been heavily affected by refugee movements and internal dis-placement. At present approximately 270,000 Sierra Leonean returnees have been resettled in communities in Kailahun, Kambia, Kono and Pujehun districts. These returnees have been reintegrated in local communities and they face common development challenges, but in many cases, may have special needs. While UNHCR and its implementing partners continue reintegration support, it is important to en-sure that the concerns of the returnees and the concerns of the local population in the areas of return are fully taken into account in local development programmes. Specifically, the Millennium Development Goals also apply to their plight, particularly as regards poverty reduction, health, gender and HIV/AIDS and there is a need to monitor the requirements and achievements of these communities to ensure that their resettlement remains sustainable and that returnees and local citizens alike share in progress.

Approximately 35,000 Liberian refugees still remain in Sierra Leone. Some of these may opt to return to Liberia and be reintegrated there in their communities of origin or be assisted with resettlement elsewhere in Liberia. A significant number, particularly urban refugees that arrived in the late 1980’s, are reluctant to return, live in precarious circumstances and will continue to require support. In many cases they live in the urban slums of Freetown and their requirements, possible asylum in Sierra Leone and security of tenure are issues of concern. There may well be cases of unregistered refugees and a better insight into their plight is related to the need to obtain better data on informal settlements.

The Government is currently considering the adoption of a Refugee Protection Act and Govern-ment and development partners should continue the policy dialogue on the early promulgation and on the institutional requirements and necessary capacities to ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Act. UNHCR and IOM particularly have both presented the Government of Sierra Leone with policy pa-pers in support of the integration of refugee, displacement and migration issues in the dialogue leading up to the formulation of the next PRSP. It is important that the dialogue with the Government is pursued on these issues and that the UNCT continue to deliberate and agrees on a specific strategy on how these con-cerns should be given specific visibility in the UNDAF.36

References have been made earlier to the adoption of the Local Government Act, devolving power, transferring revenue and responsibility for service delivery to the districts. Progress has been made in terms of fiscal policy management, governance and accountability through the devolution plan to em-power grass roots communities. Some 23 out of the 34 functions targeted for devolution have been devolved as of the end of 2006 and all functions are to be devolved by 2008. Challenges remain in terms of aligning existing laws with the LGA Act of 2004. Another challenge is the resolution of issues related to the sharing of revenues between local councils and chiefdom authorities.37 A policy on Chiefdom Governance is therefore being developed.

As also previously noted, the UNCT’s responses have evolved to support the service delivery at the district level. However, much concerted action will be needed to ensure that vital service delivery (health, sanitation, water, power, education, etc.) does not suffer from the double jeopardy of national systems ravaged by war, neglect and corruption (collapsed civil authority left more than two-thirds of the country without any form of Government presence at the end of the war), and district capacities for deliv-


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ery that in most cases are embryonic at best. A significant lack of skilled administrative and technical personnel, poor living and working conditions of the civil service are the main challenges at both national and local levels to be addressed. Continuing weaknesses of local councils to provide vital services will only augment the already considerable public frustration and alienation. The indicator framework else-where in this assessment also provides many examples of significant regional disparities. These examples would seem to point in the direction of a need for district-specific plans and strategies, as well as priori-tising districts with the most pressing issues and problems, relative to their respective capacities to deal with these problems. This strategic imperative, however, requires much better planning-data and devel-opment-data, as well as ongoing assessments of national and district-level capacities to inform and to support effective response strategies. In this context it should also be noted, for instance, that the national statistical service was only re-established as Statistics Sierra Leone in 2003 and that much of the nation’s earlier statistical records have been destroyed. These ongoing capacity-assessments also need to include civil society actors that have assumed significant responsibility for service delivery, although several background documents used for this assessment point to considerable variations in capacity, quality, ef-fectiveness and sustainability of civil society operations

The Government recognises the fragility of the peace and the many challenges and risks ahead. It has recently requested that Sierra Leone be included in the work of the Peace Building Commission (PBC), to bridge the short-term challenges with the medium-term vision and aspirations. Consequently, Sierra Leone has indeed been successful, together with Burundi, to be declared eligible for funding from the UN Peace Building Fund (PBC), formally launched on 11 October 2006.38 Immediately following its launch, the Government of Sierra Leone (represented by the Vice President) and the Executive Repre-sentative of the Secretary General met for a full day on 12 October with the Peace Building Commission. This CCA therefore also recognises the priorities presented by the Government to the Commission, in the form of detailed programme proposals, particularly with respect to (1) Youth Employment and Empow-erment, (2) Security and Transitional Justice, (3) Democratisation and (4) Civil Service Reform. The UN and development partners are assisting the Government to further detail these priority interventions to ensure that the considerable resources required can be mobilised from the Commission and from other international partners. The priority programmes identified for funding from the PBC will be implemented during 2007. The results of these programmes, their likely continuation into 2008, and the review of the current PRS and the preparation of the next PRS (2008-2010) will help shape the context for the continuing evolution of the 2008-2010 UNDAF during 2007.


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3. Key Areas of Cooperation:

The indicator framework section that follows, analyses Sierra Leone’s prospects for attaining the MDGs in detail and has been summarised below:

Goal Description and Targets Summary of Challenges and Issues for Sierra Leone in meeting the Goals and Targets by 2015

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

1 Target(s)

1. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day.

2. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.

Prospects to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 are constrained. 70% of the people live below the poverty line. Youths comprise 30% of the population: 70% of the youth are unemployed. Economic growth suffices to keep numbers of poor people from growing. Malnutrition appears on the increase. Poor infrastructure and a weak private sector constrain economic growth, employment creation and poverty reduction.

Achieve universal primary education

2 Target(s) 3. Ensure that, by 2015, children every-

where, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.

Primary school enrolment is 69%: a third of primary age children are not in school. Drop-out rates for girls are high. Progress was made in meeting EFA/FTI targets. Concerns include the significant resource requirements, the capacity to manage resources and maintaining quality education.

Promote gender equality and empower women

3 Target(s) 4. Eliminate gender disparity in primary

and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015.

Gender gaps have nearly disappeared in primary education, but persist in basic, secondary and tertiary education, the latter with only 19% of female students. Girls Education policy at basic, secondary and tertiary levels, and eliminating gender disparities should be prioritised.

Reduce child mortality

4 Target(s) 5. Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.

Under five mortality rate is among the highest in the world at 286 per 1,000 live births. Emphasis to be placed on training of Mother and Child Health (MCH) Aides, Midwives and State Enrolled Community Health Nurses (SECHN). Health expenditure 2004: 8.2%. Abuja target: 15%.

Improve maternal health

5 Target(s) 6. Reduce by three quarters, between

1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio.

MMR=1,800 per 100,000 live births. MDG target means a reduction to 450. This will require training health workers on obstetric emergency care, access to clinics, increased health expenditure and recognising two-way relationship between health and poverty.

Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

6 Target(s)

7. Have halted by 2015 and begun to re-verse the spread of HIV/AIDS.

8. Have halted by 2015 and begun to re-verse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.

Overall prevalence is 1.53%. Prevalence in pregnant women is however 3.4% or more than double the overall prevalence. Ratio of new infections is high. A good AIDS response framework exists and Road Map for Universal Access is in place. Risk of complacency over low rate of prevalence. Malaria is a leading cause of illness. GFATM assistance may not meet fully response requirements.

Ensure environmental sustainability

7 Target(s)

9. Integrate principles of sustainable development into country policies & programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources.

10. Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

11. By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.

Main environmental issues relate to unsustainable practices of agriculture (“slash and burn”), livestock farming, forest exploitation, fishing, mining, waste disposal and marine pollution. Fuel wood and charcoal meet 80% of energy needs. Only 47% has access to safe water sources and improved sanitation facilities are used by 30% of house-holds. Water and sanitation access compound health sector issues and constrain meeting the MDG targets. Some data on slums in and around Freetown is available. This indi-cates a need for a concerted approach to human settlements planning and a national housing policy.


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Develop a global partnership for development

8

12. Develop further an open, rule-based predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system. (Includes: a com-mitment to good governance, develop-ment and poverty reduction–both na-tionally and internationally.

13. Address the special needs of the least developed countries. (Includes: tariff and quota free access for the least de-veloped countries’ exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for heavily in-debted poor countries (HIPC) and can-cellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous OA four countries com-mitted to poverty reduction.

14. Address the special needs of land-locked developing countries and Small Island developing States.

15. Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sus-tainable in the long term.

16. In cooperation with developing coun-tries, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for youth.

17. In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to afford-able essential drugs in developing countries.

18. In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communication.

Debt Service: Sierra Leone reached HIPC decision point in 2002, which made it eligible for US$950 million in debt ser-vice relief equal to 80 percent of outstanding external debt. Most Paris Club creditors and all non-Paris Club official creditors have agreed to deliver debt relief. The risk of external debt distress is moderate. Coordination: A Development Assistance Coordination Office (DACO) is tasked with tracking and compiling data on aid disbursements. Data for 2003-2005 indicates growth of aid disbursements from US$256 million to US$304 in this period. External assistance, net of humanitarian and food assistance grew from US$162 million to US$285. Transparency: Government and four development partners that provide regular budget support (WB, EC, DfID and AfDB) agreed in July of 2006 on an Improved Governance and Accountability Pact (IGAP) covering ten areas of prior-ity reforms. The country has endorsed the Kimberley Proto-col and adopted national legislation for the inspection of diamonds. The Government is in the process of joining the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Harmonisation: Government and donors have agreed on plans to implement the Paris Declaration. Significant con-cerns include transparency of aid to non-state actors, dis-closure, compliance, national ownership and coherence. Youth Unemployment: This is the single most pressing issue in Sierra Leone. One third of the population of the country are youths. Two third of youths are unemployed. The marginalisation and social exclusion of youths, identi-fied as one of the chief factors contributing to the persis-tence and violence of the recent civil war, is also an over-riding issue that may affect attainment of the MDG targets particularly those related to poverty reduction and increased food security. Government and donors are considering short-term employment promotion. A sustainable solution to the problem of youth unemployment requires more robust economic growth and youth empowerment.


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The outcomes and cross-cutting issues contained in the revised 2005-2007 UNDAF would appear to remain largely valid for the 2008-2010 period, given the analysis of the prospects to attain the MDGs (above in summary and in detail in the following section). There may however be considerable merit in considering important shifts in emphases and approaches:

9 Improved employment opportunities for youth should perhaps be recognised as an outcome in its own right. While long-term prospects for sustainable levels of employment remain intracta-bly intertwined with overall economic growth, the quest for youth employment should also be approached with short-term and medium-term programmes that will tangibly impact on youth un-employment levels. A comprehensive Youth Employment Scheme (YES) has already been drawn up by the Government to which the Government is contributing US$8 million. UNDP has already committed US$1.8 million. A funding gap of approximately US$18 million remains. YES envis-ages five components: (i) youth agricultural engagement, (ii) youth enterprise development, (iii) public works scheme, (iv) youth employment study, and: (v) promoting of youth employment in Government Ministries/Departments/Agencies (MDAs). The programme also provides for a tech-nical steering committee and a consultative forum with the donor community and the private sector.

9 Education. This sector was not included in the 2005-2007 UNDAF, particularly as the reconstruc-tion efforts focused on the rebuilding for the primary education sub-sector. Given the importance of the nexus between education and development, particularly the nexus between girls education and development, it would appear imperative that the educational sector should receive specific and significant attention in the 2008-2010 UNDAF. Specifically, the strong links with youth employ-ment should be emphasised in this connection: ensuring that youth acquire specific skills and abilities that will facilitate employment in the private sector and youth enterprise development. Ad-ditionally, non-formal education, adult education, remedial education and employment-plus-education schemes should perhaps be considered for the significant numbers in the generation that missed out on formal schooling during the civil war. Furthermore, without proper attention to sec-ondary and tertiary schooling, primary education may not receive the badly needed influx of additional and fully trained teachers.

9 Gender: Significant challenges also remain with respect to girls education and narrowing the gen-der gap. The data elsewhere in this assessment are telling in respect of the significant constraints faced by women in Sierra Leone. While CEDAW-compliance has now been started with the prepa-ration of the draft CEDAW report, the compliance is a gradual process and bench marks for the next report need to be set and an action plan to reach these bench marks needs to be adopted. More importantly, it should be realised and it should be fully reflected in the policy dialogue between Government and development partners that effectively working together to address gender inequal-ity, in a range of sectors, programmes and projects, is indispensable for attaining all the MDGs, without exception: there are important linkages between gender equality and poverty reduction, gender equality and economic growth, gender equality and food security, gender equality and achieving universal primary education as well as between gender equality and the health and nutri-tion goals.

9 Human rights: The analysis in the following section indicates that Sierra Leone has signed and ratified most of the principal human rights conventions. However, critical concerns have not yet been met, such as formally approving at Cabinet and Parliamentary level the national report under CEDAW. Important national legislation to bring Sierra Leone in line with the global conventions when it comes to gender discrimination, gender-based violence and children’s rights, has been drafted, but needs to be promulgated. Even when promulgated, capacity needs to be built to ensure that the provisions of the national legislation become known and are enforced. Sierra Leone has also not yet fulfilled its bi-annual reporting requirements under the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, which came into force in 1986. Sierra Leone signed on 9 December 2003 the Pro-tocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.


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However, this protocol still requires ratification. Other pending issues are the ratification of The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adop-tion, The Palermo Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, the ILO Convention 138 concerning the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and the ILO Con-vention 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. Sierra Leone did submit a Country Report under the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC). This report requires follow-up. The adoption of a national Child Rights Bill remains pending. The UNDAF may focus on providing assistance in terms of enhanced law re-form and procedures and priorities for human rights reporting that take into account the significant capacity constraints that exist in Sierra Leone in this regard.

9 Regional Cooperation: The Peace Consolidation Strategy identified regional factors that affect Sierra Leone’s security. Otherwise, there are many challenges Sierra Leone faces that are also faced by the other countries of the Mano River Union (MRU) and Cote d’Ivoire with respect to, for instance, youth employment and the fight to stem and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. Ongoing collaboration between the UNCTs of the region should be intensified during the next UNDAF-period with appropriate attention for cross-border management and providing support to the MRU secretariat.

9 Modalities of execution and implementation: consistent with the continuing and overriding requirement to build capacity at all levels, the 2008-2010 UNDAF should seek a distinct shift towards the use of national execution in all projects and programmes. This shift should of course go hand in hand with the improvement of governance and accountability.


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4. Consensus on Priorities for the 2008-2010 UNDAF

On 4 December, senior officials of the Government and the UNCT met to review the draft Common Country Assessment and the priorities that had tentatively been identified based on the analysis of the various MDGs and their prospects for attainment.

The meeting took account of the various parameters that might still affect the programming period foreseen, 2008-2010. Key parameters considered included the still-to-be prepared new Poverty Reduction Strategy for that period and the possibility of a review of priorities following the outcome of the elections in 2007. Other factors that increasingly will influence the context for the programming for the next UNDAF period are the agreed application by Government and donors of the principles contained in the Paris Declaration on Harmonisation. Another consideration which will influence the programming processes in the years to come is the outcome of the High Level panel adopted by the Secretary General and the directions and recommendations contained in the advice by the panel, entitled “Delivering as One”. Given these important factors and issues, the meeting agreed that a progressive process of refining and adjusting priorities and related programming strategies has significant value and that therefore the draft UNDAF to be agreed during January of 2007, should very much be seen as a “living document”.

The meeting reviewed all the MDGs and considered the tentative ranking of the attainment of the various MDGs. Considering the specific parameters and challenges identified in the indicator framework of the CCA, but also considering the relationships of Sierra Leone in the global arena and the persistent difficulties in marshalling and absorbing sufficient resources for recovery and shared growth, the meeting agreed on the following categorisation of the MDGs, as applicable to Sierra Leone.

� Goals unlikely to be met

¾ MDG-1: Eradicating Poverty

¾ MDG-4: Reducing Child Mortality

¾ MDG-5: Improving Maternal Health

¾ MDG-8: Develop Partnerships for Development

� Goals likely to be met with special efforts

¾ MDG-2: Achieving Universal Primary Education

¾ MDG-3: Promoting Gender Equality

¾ MDG-7: Ensuring environmental sustainability

� Goals likely to be met with current efforts

¾ MDG-6: Combat HIV/AIDS & other diseases

Considering the challenges and difficulties associated with the attainment of the MDGs and also bearing in mind the priorities adopted in the revised 2006-2007 UNDAF, the meeting agreed on the following priorities for the 2008-2010 UNDAF:


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Additionally, the meeting agreed that the below issues should be considered as important cross-cutting issues but that the UNDAF should refine and specify in greater detail how these issues are to be taken into account:

� Gender Equality and Gender Empowerment

� Capacity Building (in support of UNDAF priorities)

� Monitoring & Evaluation; Data for Development

� Development Communication

� Conflict Sensitivity & Peace Consolidation

� Partnerships for Development

� Environmental Sustainability

Based on the above conclusions from the 4 December retreat and following further discussions in the Country Team, the UNDAF Working Group has prepared a provisional core matrix of outcomes and outputs. This document is subject to considerable refinement, but the strategic areas for intensified collaboration are already well indicated.

Specifically, the further revision of the UNDAF-document will have to give considerable attention to the Monitoring and Evaluation framework, with clear and realistic outputs to be defined, specific accountability for the realization of the outputs and a clear set of indicators to be used in reviewing the progress of implementing the UNDAF.

Pursuant to this further refinement, and as also agreed at the 4 December Retreat, a further version of the UNDAF is to be reviewed in a follow-up meeting with senior Government officials, donor representatives and representatives of Civil Society Organisations during late January 2007.


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5. Indicator Framework: 5.1. Millennium Development Goals

Measuring and monitoring progress towards the MDGs in Sierra Leone is rendered difficult on account of the general paucity of comprehensive, precise and recent data. This has already been recog-nised by the Government and development partners. Pursuant to the preparation of the 2005 MDG Report for Sierra Leone, the Government and the UNCT agreed that further analytical work was required. A specific exercise was therefore launched in October 2006, financed by UNDP.39 This responds to the re-quirement, agreed during the initial CCA-dialogue with the Government, that there should be a distinct analytical phase, which would assess whether information was pertinent, precise and up to date. The MDG exercise will also address critical information gaps and ways, means and time-frames to generate the required information.

The Government of Sierra Leone will lead the work through the Office of the Vice President, which will convene (Pillar) Sector Working Groups (SWGs) chaired by the relevant Minister(s) and senior technical staff. The working groups will also include experts and representatives from civil society and the development partners. As much as possible, the existing SWGs, which are being used for moni-toring the implementation of the PRSP 2005-2007, will be utilised for this purpose. The outputs of the MDG exercise will feed into the preparations for the PRSP 2008-2010.

The statistical information in the first section of each MDG reflects the information that is avail-able in publicly accessible databases (World Bank, World Development Indicators). This will not always be consistent with the (more recent or updated) information found in other sources.40

A general problem affecting all MDG-related reporting in the case of Sierra Leone concerns the absence of comprehensive data. Many of the available indicators are based on limited surveys, not on systematically collected comprehensive national surveys. The exception of course is the 2004 National Census. Particularly with respect to literacy, many different numbers were found in the literature used for this CCA. Often, total, adult and youth literacy are not clearly indicated. Annex II therefore lists the liter-acy rates by age cohorts as contained in the unpublished 2004 Census data.

While there are good background documents and good surveys such as the periodic Multiple In-dicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), we found significant variation in some of the survey data. This challenge is already being addressed through the plans to set up a National MDG database that will compile, com-pare and authenticate data from different sources. As results become available, the indicator framework in this draft CCA will be progressively updated. Meanwhile, the discussion in this section avails itself of the best and most recent estimates on the various MDG indicators.41

Another issue affecting the quality of the analysis is the significant regional variation in key indi-cators. Literacy rates vary by age, but also by geographic location. This also applies to school enrolment, employment data, child and maternal mortality and income data. One should thus be cautious with na-tional aggregates or national averages. Indeed, given the significant disparities among the regions and the districts, and given Government’s emphasis on decentralisation, the case could well be made for district-specific surveys and district-specific data collections. Together with varying levels of institutional capac-ity, this could make for district-specific response strategies and prioritisation by region of certain response strategies or emergency responses to the significant regional variations in malnutrition data.


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Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 1990 1995 1998 2001 2004

Income share held by lowest 20% 1 .. .. .. ..

Malnutrition prevalence, weight for age (% of children under 5) 29 .. .. 27 ..

Poverty gap at $1 a day (PPP) (%) 41 .. .. .. ..

Poverty headcount ratio at $1 a day (PPP) (% of population) 57 .. .. .. ..

Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line (% of population) 83 .. .. .. 70

Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population) .. .. 44 .. 50

Present Situation: The Government has committed itself to a policy which aims to ensure that “by 2007 no Sierra Leonean goes to bed hungry”. While important progress has been made in terms of improving the food security situation in recent years, this should be seen against the effects of a long period of violent civil strife that expanded poverty through social dislocation, the loss of coping mechanisms and the emergence of large numbers of war vic-tims with special needs and living in difficult circumstances such as amputees, orphans, widows, widowers, drug victims, the mentally ill, refugees and the homeless. A Household survey conducted between May 2003 and May 2004 indicated that 70% of people live below the poverty line. The proportion of persons that can be classified as extremely poor, or unable to meet half of their daily needs, was estimated at 26%. Regional inequities persist with 15% of people living below the poverty line in Freetown, compared to respectively 79% and 70% for the rural areas and other urban areas. Productivity in agriculture is low: 70% of the population earns a subsistence living from agriculture. The sector contributes 40% of GDP. The youth comprise one third of the population. Yet, two thirds of the youth are unemployed. The youth aged 15-24 are among the poorest of the poor. Poverty is also spread very unevenly over Sierra Leone, with Bombali, Bonthe, Tonkolili and Kailahun being significantly poorer than other districts as the table on Incidence of Poverty by District and Rural/Urban, 2002/03, shows:

Bonthe 39.9 88.7 1 33.1 83.5 6Tonkolili 36.4 87.7 2 31.0 84.2 5Kailahun 25.7 86.2 3 54.9 94.6 2Bombali 25.1 83.4 4 69.6 90.0 3Koinadugu 28.6 81.1 5 29.2 76.3 8Kenema 19.5 77.5 6 52.4 95.0 1Kambia - 75.6 7 11.6 67.7 12Port Loko 12.7 71.9 8 22.6 85.0 4Bo 27.3 59.9 9 24.3 67.8 11Pujehun 7.7 59.5 10 16.3 59.6 13Moyamba 11.1 59.0 11 17.4 69.1 10Kono 9.2 56.3 12 35.2 79.6 7Western Area 3.2 17.1 13 26.3 70.1 9TOTAL 14.7 54.3 - 32.8 78.9 -

Urban Rural

Full Poor Poverty Ranking

Poverty Ranking

District Food Poor Full Poor Food Poor

Source: Sierra Leone Integrated Household Survey (SLIHS) (2003/04)

The 2005 Food Security, Farm Production, Health & Nutrition Survey (Sierra Leone Vulnerability Assessment and Mapping, reported nationwide food security levels as follows:

o Poor food consumption – worst access to food: 11%

o Border-line food consumption: 17%

o Adequate food consumption with low diversity: 34%

o Fairly good food consumption – fairly good access: 7%

o Good food consumption – with varied dietary patterns: 31%

Malnutrition and undernourishment remain too common: 40% of children under age five are too short for their age. Malnutrition rates remain alarming in some cases: The VAM found a 15% level of Global Acute Malnutrition and 6.4% Severe Acute Malnutrition. Bombali and Bonthe recorded over 30% of Global Acute Malnutrition.


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Prospects for Achievement by 2015: Prospects for eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 are consid-erably constrained. The years 2003 and 2004 did see robust economic growth with real GDP increasing by 9.3% and 7.4% respectively. The population growth of over 2% per annum, requires an average real growth rate of 7% to prevent the number of poor people from rising.42 Significantly higher and sustained real growth rates will there-fore be crucial to reduce the number of poor people or to address existing inequalities. Higher growth rates, in turn, require new approaches to strategic planning, improved economic management, continued institutional re-form of the public service, significant expansion of the private sector and an increase in the contribution of manufacturing and mining to GDP. The latter are in turn heavily affected by a road network that is still, in many places, in a severe state of disrepair. Urgent reforms in road sector management are needed. Problems in the man-agement of the power sector persist with a 55 Kwh. per capita consumption during 2004 from the grid compared to a regional average of 495 Kwh.43 Less than 10% of the population has access to electricity supply. The policy dia-logue of the development partners and the Government will therefore need to continue to focus on the link between poor infrastructure (roads, water and power) without which economic growth, growth of the private sector and employment creation will not be adequate to impact significantly on poverty and unemployment levels. Tangibly improved food security in the near future is a major imperative and requires strong and sustained com-mitment to improvements in the agricultural sector, such as support to farmers, increased productivity, processing, improved distribution and marketing, feeder roads, improved extension services and significant investments in mechanising and commercialising agricultural production. Current agricultural practices involve in many cases “slash and burn” methods, which have severe environmental effects. It is important to understand that in many cases these slash and burn practices are applied in “upland” agri-culture (farming in the hills) as distinct from agricultural practices on the plains, the lowlands. Concerns over pillaging and land tenure affect these practices and unless security concerns of farmers are understood and effec-tively addressed, progress on this issue may be elusive. Reviving agriculture should also pay specific attention to the areas that were particularly affected during the civil conflict, such as Pujehun (Southern region) and Loko district (North-western region) These districts had signifi-cant post-harvest infrastructure and equipment (stores, drying floors, rice threshers, rice mills and oil palm mills) that were destroyed during the war.44 Malnutrition remains a major issue requiring concerted action: the 2005 VAM found malnutrition levels that are significantly above internationally agreed upon thresholds for acute malnutrition, according to which rates beyond 9% are considered serious if not critical. Some food recovery or food aid will therefore remain needed. The high Global Acute Malnutrition and Severe Acute Malnutrition rates indicate the need for a continued focus on nutri-tion as a priority area for intervention. This should particularly apply to pregnant women, nursing women and under five children with supplementary food, health and nutrition education, appropriate care practices and HIV/AIDS awareness. Reducing malnutrition will also require continued sensitisation and adult education to create household awareness. There is ample evidence that in many cases malnutrition is related to the educational attainment levels of the par-ents, particularly the mothers as women’s education has a significant effect on the reduction of malnutrition. Otherwise the gender dimension of poverty and food security will also require continued investment in human capital, particularly in the case of Sierra Leone, sustained investment in girls education and sustained improve-ments in women’s health, particularly reproductive health. The constraints on women to own land, and thus their inability to use land as collateral obtain credit for agricultural inputs, is also a considerable drag on the challenge to increase agricultural production. Telling by the experience of other Sub Saharan African countries, if women in Sierra Leone had similar access as men to agricultural inputs, this alone could boost agricultural output by a mag-nitude of 6%-20%.45


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Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education 1990 1995 1998 2001 2004

Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) .. .. .. .. 48

Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) .. .. .. .. ..

Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) .. .. .. .. ..

School enrolment, primary (% net) 43 .. .. .. ..

Present Situation: The adult literacy rate of 33.3% is one of the lowest in the world. Geographical differences and gender differences in access to education remain. The literacy rate in the Northern Area is only 14%, compared to 69% of the Western Area. Female adult literacy in 2000 was 21%. This rose to 22.6% in 2004. Only 50% of all primary school teachers are qualified and there are shortages of essential infrastructure and learning materials. Entire cohorts have missed the opportunity to go to school due to the civil war. Gross Enrolment Rates (GER) rose from 65% in 2000 to 90% (79% for girls) in 2001. They rose further to 143% in 2003, 160% for boys and 120% for girls. Net Enrolment Rates (NER) are estimated at 42% in 2000. However, drop out rates for girls remain high.46 The below data show graphically how primary school enrolment has risen significantly after the war, with post-war levels virtually triple the pre-war levels, also indicating the tremendous strains on the schooling system. Estimates are that 76% of women and 60% of men have never been to school. Some 30% of primary age children remain out of school.47 The MICS 2005 puts the net primary school attendance rate at 69%, which would be a significant increase versus the 42% reported in the 2000 MICS. The MICS 2005 refers to a “dramatic increase” on account of improved access to education in areas that were held by the rebels in 2000 as well as increased support to primary education throughout the country. The gap between girls and boys attendance at primary school has virtually been closed. The 2005 MICS Survey also indicates an important link between education and malnutrition as mothers with sec-ondary or higher education are less likely to have malnourished children compared to mothers with no or primary-only education.48 The more comprehensive 2006 Education Country Status Report also stresses the tremendous gains that have been made over the past years in student enrolment, rehabilitation and reconstruction of schools and maintenance of quality education levels.49

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04

School Years (Starting in)

Primary School Enrolment Sierra Leone

All StudentsGirlsBoys


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Prospects for Achievement by 2015: The Government has emphasised education as the key to improving human development and a critical element to reduce poverty. Consequently, the Education budget has increased by an impressive 500% between 1999 and 2004. Significant donor disbursements have supported the sector, notably the US$20 million World Bank’s Rehabilita-tion of Basic Education Project (REHEP), which runs from 2003-2008. School feeding has also boosted enrolment and attendance mainly through WFP’s US$5 million annual support. UNICEF and many NGOs support the reha-bilitation of the education sector in other respects. Many institutional weaknesses persist in the sector, notably the difficulty to obtain comprehensive and timely education data, transparency of the management and accountability of available resources and quality and morale of teachers. A draft Education Sector Plan (ESP) has been developed by the Government, with assistance from UNICEF. The appraisal process under the Education-for-All (EFA) Fast Track Initiative (FTI), managed by the World Bank will be completed during November of 2006. The Government has committed itself to ensuring that 20% of the Gov-ernment budget is dedicated to education, one of the conditions of FTI eligibility. Sierra Leone appears on track for FTI funding during 2006. As discussed under MDG 3, Gender Equality, tremendous recent progress has been made in terms of increasing girls enrolment in primary school between 2001/2002 and 2004/2005: the overall increase in enrolment was 131%, reflecting an increase of enrolment for boys of 119%, but 152% for girls.50 Continued attention remains required for the link between education and nutrition: school feeding programmes have established positive effects on enrolment, attendance and pupil’s attentiveness in class. These should be se-lectively continued, in line with nutrition surveillance system results and with constant monitoring of the effects of the school feeding.


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The Education Act 2004 stipulates that all children should complete not just primary education, but basic educa-tion which comprises 6 years of primary school and 3 years of junior secondary school (JSS). Achieving universal basic education in Sierra Leone is therefore an even more challenging task than achieving universal primary edu-cation, particularly as gender inequity, the difference between the poor and rich households and between the urban and rural regions and the differences between the provinces, become much larger at JSS level than at primary level. JSS (Basic Education Certification Examination) statistics indicate that considerable challenges remain at this level: while the ratio of successful male graduates to successful female graduates increased from 2.5 to 1.5 during the period 2000-2005, there is still a considerable way to go to parity. It bears repeating that these are na-tional averages. For specific regions in Sierra Leone the gender disparities will no doubt be much wider at primary and basic education level, again reinforcing the need for good data and policies that allocate resources to the neediest regions. Gender disparities increase with age and level of education. However, socioeconomic and geographic disparities are greater in Sierra Leone than gender disparities. In turn, gender disparities again exacerbate the differences in the other characteristics. For instance, the parity index for the country as a whole at primary level is 0.97, indicat-ing that roughly the same number of boys and girls attend school. The parity index between the rural and the urban areas is 0.36 indicating that for every 100 children who are in school in the urban areas, only 36 children are in school in the rural areas. However, the parity index between rural girls and urban boys is 0.20 which means that for every five boys in school in the urban areas; only one girl is in school in the rural areas.51 Reasons for the significant numbers of students not enrolled are diverse, but all point to economic difficulties or issues of access: “The top reasons cited for not attending primary school is economic difficulties. Although the government implemented free primary education in 2002/03, there are still hidden costs which some parents are unable to pay, such as uniforms, extra-curricula activities, exercise books, and stationeries. Additionally, they give up the work the child may have provided during the school hours. The government has made a sincere effort to supply free textbooks; unfortunately, the quantity is not enough so far. The second reason cited for not attending primary school is that, in the opinion of other community members, parents do not care about children’s education, which may reflect a combination of supply and demand side factors which call for further study. The third reason involves a distance factor, wherein schools are far away from the prospective students; a serious problem in rural areas, particularly at the JSS level.”52 It is estimated that US$ 500 million will be required over 12 years for construction, equipment and materials and teacher training to meet the needs of the school expansion and qualitative improvement of primary education. Sec-ondary, tertiary, technical, non-formal, remedial and adult education requirements also need to be addressed. Areas for policy development and policy dialogue between Government and development partners therefore include: (1) Achieving education for all; (2) Expanding post-basic education; (3) Enhancing the quality of the teaching force and improving teacher morale; (4) Managing the decentralisation process in the education sector; (5) Eliminating disparities in education by targeting the poor, rural children, girls and regions with the highest proportion of poor and vulnerable children; (5) Improving data for monitoring, planning and accountability; (6) Mobilising and mak-ing effective use of resources, and (7) coordinating the work of the development partners assisting the sector.


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Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women 1990 1995 1998 2001 2004

Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament (%) .. .. 6 9 15

Ratio of girls to boys in primary and secondary education (%) 66.8 .. .. 70.6 74.3

Ratio of young literate females to males (% ages 15-24) .. .. .. .. 63

Share of women employed in non-agricultural sector 53 21 .. .. .. ..

Present Situation: MDG 3, to “Promote gender equality and empower women” has one target which calls for the “elimination of gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of edu-cation no later than 2015.” The single target is therefore limited to gender disparity in education, as empirical evidence has shown that promoting gender parity in education constitutes one of the most important development actions a country can take. The World Bank has indicated that if other developing countries had closed the gender gap in schooling between 1960 and 1992 as quickly as East Asia did, their per additional annual per capita income growth would have been between 0.5% and 1%. Over the period in question, this would have amounted to a dou-bling of per capita income on account of gender parity in education alone.54 The other indicators, to judge progress towards this MDG, are related to literacy, share of women in wage em-ployment in the non-agricultural sector and the proportion of seats held in the National Parliament. Beyond this single target and three indicators, there are of course far wider issues that affect women in general and particularly women in Sierra Leone. The discussion in this section and the next section therefore focuses firstly on issues as they relate to the targets and indicators. Secondly, the discussion focuses on wider issues affecting gender in Sierra Leone. Thirdly, gender issues are relevant to all the other MDGs and these issues are discussed under the respec-tive sections for each MDG. In terms of the gender disparity in education, the gender gap remains high in primary education as only 42% of primary pupils are girls. Moreover, the gap increases progressively as a mere 19% of university students are fe-male. Female literacy remains low and many women in poorer households have never attended school. The adult liter-acy rate (Persons 15 years of age and older; Census 2004) was 33.3%. However, the male adult literacy rate was 45.3% as compared to a female adult literacy rate of 22.6%. The gap narrows considerably when considering the ratio of young literate females to males (% ages 15-24) which stood at 68.3% in 2004. Still, this reflects a male youth literacy rate of 59% as compared to a female youth literacy rate of 35.2%. Only when considering the youngest cohort, children between 10 and 14 years of age, do we see the gains that girls have made in recent years. The literacy rate for boys (10-14 years of age) was 62%. The comparable rate for girls was 54.8%. (See Annex II and the graph on the following page, which of course do show the tremendous relative long term gains women have made in terms of literacy in Sierra Leone). The share of women employed in the non-agricultural sector is another indicator to monitor the progress towards the attainment of the MDG to promote gender equality and to empower women. The share of women so employed in Sierra Leone is depicted in Annex I to this document, broken down by region. As can be seen, there is signifi-cant disparity between the share of women so employed (6%) and the share of men so employed (17.4%). Again, the differences by region are noticeable with only 2.1% share of female non-agricultural employment in the North compared to 14% for the Western area. Women remain under-represented in political and public life in Sierra Leone, although gains have been made with the proportion of seats held by women in the national parliament increasing from 8.8% in 1996, 14.5% following the 2002 elections and 15.3% in 2006. Positions held by women in the 2002 Cabinet amounted to 14.3% and 30% at the Deputy Cabinet Ministers level. At the Local Government level the number of female councillors was 10.9% in 2004.55 Only 7% of senior civil servants are women. The position of women in the Judiciary shows a similar picture: Only 30.4% of judges, and only 10.5% of magistrates, are women.56 Going beyond the issues of the target and indicators, there are important other issues affecting women in Sierra Leone, such as access to health services, gender-based violence (GBV), and more fundamentally, human rights issues such as the discriminatory effect of the Constitution and the laws, particularly customary law. De facto, women in Sierra Leone have unequal access to basic health services and unequal opportunities for the protection, promotion and maintenance of health.57 This is illustrated by one of the highest maternal mortality ra-tios (MMR) in the world at 1,800 per 100,000 live births. Violence against women and children remains


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common.58 Family Support Units (FSUs) have been set up in many police stations but many human rights abuses are still silenced.59 Although the statistics on sexual and gender based violence are limited, the available data does indicate that this remains an area of concern.60 In 2005, the Family Support Unit of the Sierra Leone Police re-ceived 809 cases of sexual assault; 92% of those cases were against girls under the age of 18. Of those 809 cases, 593 were referred to Court. Furthermore, the same Unit reported in the same year, 2005, 908 cases of domestic violence, involving predominately physical violence against women 18 years and older. Of those, only 246 cases were referred to Court.61 In terms of the legal impediments to gender equality, the situation in Sierra Leone is complex. The country is gov-erned by a Constitution that prohibits the promulgation of discriminatory laws. However, it is also agreed that Section 27 of the Constitution is ambivalent in that discriminatory laws might be permissible with respect to “adoption, marriage, divorce, burial and devolution of property on death or other interests of personal law.”62 Existing legislation is profoundly discriminatory as for instance the Matrimonial Act of 1960 and the Citizen’s Act of 1973.63 Customary law also discriminates against women. Although unwritten, it applies to the majority of the population. It regards women as “chattels” to be inherited. Women also provide the bulk of the agricultural labour force, yet they can not own land and whatever user rights they may acquire, are lost upon the death of their husbands.

Prospects for Achievement by 2015: The Government has shown its commitment to gender equality through the establishment of a Ministry for Gender Affairs and a Parliamentary Sub-Committee on Gender. The Local Gov-ernment Act (LGA) 2004 requires at least 50% participation in District and Ward Development Committees. On the education front, there is the challenge to further increase girls enrolment at primary, secondary and par-ticularly tertiary level, to retain girls in school, to pro-actively address traditional attitudes to girls and women, and to influence attitudes on the importance of education for women. The MICS 2005 also recommends that the Min-istry of Education should enforce the Girls Education policy, particularly at the secondary and tertiary levels. Tremendous recent progress has been made in terms of increasing girls enrolment in primary school, between 2001/2002 and 2004/2005: the overall increase in enrolment was 131%, reflecting an increase of enrolment for boys of 119%, but 152% for girls.64 Longer term trends are also promising: secondary school enrolment during the period 1986/1987 – 2004/2005 increased by 79% for boys, but 128% for girls. Considering the graduates of the Basic Education Certification Examination, there is a similar trend: while boys who sat the exams increased by 115% during the period 2000-2005, their pass rate dropped from 57% to 36% (!). The percentage increase in suc-cessful male graduates was thus 37% for the period. For girls, both the number of girls who sat the exam increased by 90% and the pass rate also increased from 36% to 42%. The percentage increase in successful female graduates thus increased by 121% during the period. To put another way: the ratio of successful male graduates to successful female graduates increased from 2.5 to 1.5 during the period. However, at tertiary level the disparity widens: for each and every female student that enrolled at Fourah Bay College in 1980/1981, 3.1 male students enrolled. In 2003/2004, 4.0 male students enrolled for each female student. While significant progress has thus been made in terms of literacy and education for women, significant policy challenges remain to reduce gender disparities. Past and present gender disparities in education are probably indirectly responsible for the very low share of fe-male non-agricultural employment. The policy dialogue between the Government and the development partners should seek to concur on essential and early steps to ensure a better understanding of the employment disparities with a view to design effective policies to address these disparities. The MDG target for MMR (reduction by three quarters) in the case of Sierra Leone would yield a target MMR for 2015 of 450 per 100,000 live births. This will require sustained rates of approximately 15% per annum reduction in MMR. This is a daunting challenge. A Task Force is in place to prepare a national strategic plan of action to reduce infant, under-five and maternal mortality. The strategic plan will need to take on board critical issues such as significantly increased health sector expenditure, the human resource challenges in the health sector and the effective decentralisation of health service delivery, as well as significant investment in sensitisation and public education to amend traditional attitudes to delivery. The Government in collaboration with DfID and the British Council has embarked on an ambitious Justice Sector Development Programme (JSDP) that pays particular attention to appropriate procedures for addressing and re-dressing abuses. There is also a task force on Gender Based Violence (GBV) in place comprising the Sierra Leone Police (Family Support Units), UNFPA, UNICEF and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to address issues of violence against women. While this initiative provides medical and counselling services to victims, prompt and


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successful prosecution of perpetrators is still elusive in most cases. The Government and the UNCT also took an active part in June 2006 deliberations that led to the “Brussels Call to Action to Address Sexual Violence in Con-flict and Beyond.” Sierra Leone is also now in the process of formally completing, approving and submitting a Status Report on the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). A committee has been set up to integrate provisions of CEDAW into the national laws of Sierra Leone. Important legislation has been drafted but needs to be promulgated, such as the Registration of Customary Marriages and Divorce Act, Intestate Succession Act, and the Domestic Violence Act. The draft CEDAW report and the draft legislation now need to be brought before the Cabinet and Parliament for discussion, enactment, amendment and approval. The Section 27 of the Constitution would have to be altered as it now permits discriminatory laws with respect to “adoption, marriage, divorce, burial, devolution of property on death or other interests of personal law”. This how-ever will be a complex and long road, requiring strong and sustained political commitment and widespread advocacy throughout the nation. Section 27 belongs to the “entrenched clauses”. Any draft law or bill therefore that seeks to repeal one of the entrenched clauses shall first have to be submitted by the Government to Parliament. It then needs to be adopted by the Parliament. Even when Parliament has adopted the Bill, it must be submitted to a referendum. For the Bill to become law, not less than 50% of registered voters will have to participate in the ref-erendum for it to be valid. Additionally, assuming the referendum is valid; the vote in favour of the proposed law needs to have a two-thirds majority. The entire process will be extremely expensive and if poorly prepared or exe-cuted, may well set back the gender equality agenda by years. As far as other important global conventions are concerned, with specific provisions for the protection of the hu-man rights of women, Sierra Leone has signed on 9 December 2003, but not yet ratified, the Protocol to the Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. Under Article 62 of the Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), which Sierra Leone has signed and rati-fied, the country is required to submit to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights periodic reports to indicate how it has adopted the legislative and other measures to give effect to the provisions of the Charter in Sierra Leone. Since the 20 years that the Charter has entered into force, Sierra Leone has not reported on its obli-gations under the Charter. The Government, in collaboration with UNIOSIL has also agreed to set up a Task Force for the implementation of Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Other critical issues are the need to modify traditional and religious practices to eliminate gender discrimination; ensure gender training for key stakeholders at national and community levels to change stereotypes regarding gen-der equality; enforce the implementation of policies on gender mainstreaming and the advancement of women; and formulate affirmative policies to increase female representation in public life, internationally, nationally and lo-cally. It will be absolutely necessary for Government and development partners to focus the policy dialogue on the above issues, to consider support to, and the strengthening of the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children Affairs, as well as to the Ministry of Health in terms of addressing the dramatic MMR issues, to ensure that specific and effective response strategies are in place to address the above challenges.


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Goal 4: Reduce child mortality65 1990 1995 1998 2001 2004

Immunisation, measles (% of children ages 12-23 months) .. .. 62 50 64

Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 175 171 .. 167 165

Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000) 302 293 .. 286 283

Present Situation: Child mortality rates are among the highest in the world, with infant mortality estimated at 170 per 1,000 live births. Under-five mortality rates are estimated at 286 per 1,000 live births. Again, these national averages mask vast geographical inequities with the infant mortality rates and under-five mortality rates for the Kenema district at respectively 215 and 358. On the other hand, infant mortality and under-five mortality rates for the Western urban district are 90 and 146 respectively. Immunisation coverage (fully immunised one year olds) has significantly increased to around 64% as compared to 28% in 1997. Still, vaccine preventable diseases remain as one of the key contributors to the very high infant and under-five mortality rates in Sierra Leone. Main causes of child mortality in Sierra Leone include malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, pneumonia, vaccine-preventable dis-eases, birth asphyxia, sepsis and neonatal tetanus. It is estimated that 80% of all births take place in the home, assisted by Traditional Birth Assistants (TBAs), not all of whom are well trained, without the possibility of timely and qualified assistance in the case of complications. There is also a high rate of untrained TBAs, for instance Konno district with a 73% ratio of untrained TBAs and Kenema with a 67% ratio of untrained TBAs.66 Much attention is also needed for the regulatory framework for the TBAs.

Prospects for Achievement by 2015: While significant work has been done on rehabilitating the health sector over the last few years, there remain daunting challenges to the attainment of a reduction by two thirds the under-five mortality rate by 2015. The Government adopted a National Health Policy and a Human Resources for Health Policy respectively in 2002 and 2006. The Government, through the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and assisted by key development partners such as the World Bank, DfID, WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, FAO, WFP and UNAIDS has set up a Task Force on Accelerated Child Survival and Development (ACSD) and Maternal Mortality Reduc-tion (MMR). The chief task of this Task Force will be to prepare a national strategic plan of action to reduce infant, under-five and maternal mortality. The preparation of such a strategic plan of action and the associated policy dialogue between the Government and development partners will need to take account of key critical issues such as the mobilisation of enhanced resources for the health sector, acceleration of decentralisation of the delivery of health services, as well as significant investment in sensitisation and public education to amend traditional atti-tudes to delivery. Otherwise the policy dialogue should place more emphasis on the applicability of human rights to reproductive health, the two-way relationship (a cause and an effect) between health and poverty, the fact that investing in health is a direct investment in social and economic development and the considerable resource-gap currently ex-isting in the health sector in Sierra Leone. WHO has calculated a figure of US$60 per capita for a comprehensive health system. Minimally adequate inter-ventions for basic health needs are calculated at US$30-US$40 per capita.67 This therefore means that a comprehensive health sector investment programme should be in the range of US$150 to US$300 million. This compares to US$ 101 million disbursements for the entire Social sector in 2005.68 Expenditure on health was 8.2% of total Government expenditure in 2004, considerably below the Abuja target of 15%.69 Considerable attention remains required for the shortages of human resources for health: this concern needs to be addressed systematically. (See the next MDG for a systematic listing of interventions that may have the greatest impact on reducing child and maternal mortality). Again, the quest for the reduction of child mortality in Sierra Leone will have to take into account the gender di-mension and the all important issue of education. There are important correlations between low levels of maternal schooling and high illiteracy rates on the one hand, and high child mortality rates on the other hand. Empirical evidence indicates that, all else being equal, one to three years increases of maternal schooling would reduce child mortality by about 15 percent. Similar increases in parental schooling would also decrease mortality, but only by about 6%.70


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Goal 5: Improve maternal health 1990 1995 1998 2001 2004

Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. .. .. 41.7 ..

Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) .. .. .. 4 ..

Maternal mortality ratio (modelled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. .. .. 2000 ..

Present Situation: The maternal mortality ratio for Sierra Leone in 2005 stood at 1,800 per 100,000 live births and is the highest in the world, with as main causes obstructed labour and haemorrhage. This high maternal mor-tality rate is linked to the limited number of appropriate health services, both in terms of physical facilities (properly equipped maternity wards and Primary Health centres) and in terms of the human resources required for skilled birth attendance; there is an acute shortage of midwives, especially in rural areas. Hence, there is a high reliance on traditional birth attendants. Many of these are poorly skilled and may not always know how to ensure timely referrals in case of emergency. Problems also exist with regard to accessibility of quality obstetric services, in terms of both geographical and financial access. The poor transport and communication links in Sierra Leone and the high levels of poverty make it often impossible for women with complicated pregnancies to seek the nec-essary health services. The absence of a proper referral system with the necessary equipped and staffed facilities, and the required transport and communication support are also contributing factors.

Main causes for the high MMR are haemorrhage, obstructed labour, eclampsia, infection (malaria included) and abortion.71 While there is no overt discrimination against women in terms of access to health care, most rural women simply have very limited access to health facilities or to trained medical personnel. Reproductive Health & Family Planning Services are mainly available in the urban areas. All government gynaecologists/obstetricians and paediatricians are located in urban areas. A total of 80% of gynaecologists are not in post and one third of State Certified Midwives are not in post. Other contributory factors to the high MMR are the relatively high cost of treatment at health facilities (where they are available), lack of trained midwives at the community level and high level of untrained Traditional Birth Assistants (TBAs) and Maternal and Child Health (MCH) aides. In this regard, it should be emphasised that some of these issues have in fact been subject to serious retrogression, rather than progress. The percentage of births attended by qualified health staff was actually 80% in 1992/1993. It then dropped to lows of 20% - 30% during the period 1995-1997, to increase again to a little above 40% in 2005.72 This of course is a historical path of national averages and there will possibly have been sharp deviations in specific communities or regions compared to these averages.

The 2005 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey estimates that 43% of all births in the year prior to the MICS were attended by skilled personnel. This is consistent with other estimates that nation-wide not more than 20% of all deliveries take place in suitably staffed and properly equipped Health Care Centres. Combining this with the na-tional ratio of untrained TBAs (48%), suggests that the proportion of births attended by skilled health staff does not exceed 42% nationally as a significant number of births is assisted by untrained TBAs. For some districts this proportion may be as low as one in five births (22%).73 The MICS puts ratio for skilled attendants that assist deliveries at 83% for the Western Area, as opposed to 25% for the North.

Maternal mortality is also related to maternal malnutrition: the 2005 VAM found significant levels of maternal malnutrition particularly in the North and the South. At district level, Bombali, Bonthe and Port Loko stand out with respective levels of 29%, 23% and 17% maternal malnutrition rates. The VAM also observed an inverse cor-relation between maternal malnutrition and access to safe water, as well as a positive correlation between maternal malnutrition and distance to health services.

Prospects for Achievement by 2015: Access to skilled birth attendants appears to be limited by a number of fac-tors including their availability and adequacy of their skills level, the absence of a referral system for complicated deliveries, financial barriers (payments must be made to providers, even though the services are theoretically free of charge) logistical difficulties and long distances to reaching health facilities and inadequately equipped health facilities. There is a significant need to retrain and retain midwifes and TBAs, as well as a drugs policy that regu-lates the availability of drugs such as Oxytocin and Ergometrine. The MICS suggests that in order to reach the MDG, greater progress needs to be made in finalising and ratifying the Safe Motherhood Initiative policy, which among other things stipulates that mother-friendly facilities should be developed.


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Translating the MDG target for MMR to Sierra Leone (reduction by three quarters) would yield a target MMR for 2015 of 450 per 100,000 live births. This can only be reached if sustained rates of approximately 15% per annum reduction in MMR are achieved. Unless there is a reinforced strategy to pay attention to the issues mentioned un-der the previous MDG (Child Mortality) it will be unlikely that a target of 450 per 100,000 live births would be feasible in Sierra Leone. The policy dialogue between Government and development partners needs to take into account significantly higher levels of investment in health, influencing traditional attitudes to delivery, recognising the complex link between health and poverty and the applicability of human rights to reproductive health.

Furthermore, high MMR is inversely related to gender equality: inequality in the control of the household eco-nomic resources, in the right to make decisions, in the freedom of movement to move outside the house and in the freedom to seek access to health services contribute to poor maternal health. All of this is compounded in the case of Sierra Leone by grossly insufficient reproductive health services, particularly in the rural areas.

The UNCT and other partners have tentatively identified the key interventions that have the greatest impact on reducing child and maternal mortality in Sierra Leone:

� Nutrition: ¾ Early/exclusive breastfeeding; ¾ Proper complementary feeding; ¾ Provision of therapeutic feeding, when necessary.

� Prevention of common childhood illnesses: ¾ Promotion of universal access to Insecticide Treated Netting ( ITN); ¾ Promotion of Intermittent Preventive Treatment (IPT) for pregnant women; ¾ Support for routine immunisation; ¾ Promotion of safe drinking water and sanitation.

� Proper case management of common childhood illnesses, including outreach and home treatment; ¾ Malaria; ¾ Diarrhoeal diseases; ¾ Pneumonia.

� Strengthening maternal and child health services: ¾ Support basic and comprehensive obstetric emergency care; ¾ Improved case management of infections in the perinatal period; ¾ Support of functional resuscitation facilities and services for birth asphyxia; ¾ Strengthening of safe blood management; ¾ Free and easily accessible health services for under-five children and pregnant women.


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Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases 1990 1995 1998 2001 2004

Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS .. .. .. .. 31,000

Incidence of tuberculosis (per 100,000 people) 223.7 .. .. .. 443.2

Prevalence of HIV, female (% ages 15-24) .. .. .. .. 1

Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15-49) .. .. .. .. 2

Tuberculosis cases detected under DOTS (%) .. 27.9 36.2 33.9 35.6

Present Situation: HIV was first identified in Sierra Leone in 1987. In 2002 a CDC-survey (assisted by Statistics Sierra Leone) reported prevalence of 0.9%. This exercise was limited in geographic coverage as some districts were still under rebel control. A full population based survey74 was conducted in 2005 and reported national prevalence of 1.53% that ranged from 0.5% in the Tonkolili District to 3.0% in the Koinadugu District. The survey also revealed prevalence in the urban area at 2.1% and 1.3% in the rural areas; prevalence for women aged between 15-24 years was recorded as 1.9% and 1.5% for women between 15-49 years. The highest prevalence among men is between the ages of 35-39 years (3.5%) and that of women between ages 20-24 years (2.0%). It was also recorded that prevalence is much higher in the categories of uniformed service personnel, commercial sex workers, mobile and migrant workers. From all indications, it is acknowledged that the epidemic is on the increase and all ingredients that help spread the virus are present. There is thus a need to scale up interventions significantly, if the trend of increasing infections is to be reversed. HIV prevalence in pregnant women is 3.4%, more than double the prevalence in the overall population. This points to the need to pay attention to Prevention of Parent/Mother to Child Transmission (PPTCT or PMTCT). Only 25% of identified HIV-positive women have access to Anti-Retroviral (ARV) prophylaxis and less than 1% of HIV-exposed or HIV-infected children are receiving Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART). Some 43,000 adults and 5,200 children are estimated to be living with AIDS. AIDS-orphans are estimated to number 31,000. Pregnant women, to be screened for PPTCT, average around 250,000 per annum. (UNICEF data). Malaria is a leading cause of illness and accounts for 40% out-patient attendance at health facilities. Owing to low use of impregnated bed-nets for children under-five and pregnant women, the prevalence of malaria among under-five children is 47% with a mortality rate of 39%.75 The number of people living with TB is estimated as 40,210. There were 5,047 TB-related deaths in 2003. Sierra Leone has a National AIDS Secretariat (NAS) located within the Office of the President. The Government negotiated a US$15 million credit with the World Bank to help in the overall effort to mitigate the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This credit is of a multi-sector nature, involving the health sec-tor, education, social welfare, transport, defence, agriculture, development and economic planning. The country has a functional Country Coordination Mechanism (CCM) and has received US$38.2 million in grant financing from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) including financing through the Aids Response Group (ARG) of the NAS for the development of a comprehensive national response to HIV/AIDS that includes adequate prevention, care and support for those affected. A national Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) expansion support project and a National Malaria Control Programme are being financed by the GFATM through the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society.

Prospects for Achievement by 2015: Sierra Leone has reasonable prospects to attain the MDG targets for HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria by 2015. Chief issues that need to be addressed are complacency over the relatively low rate of HIV prevalence, a strong emphasis on prevention, particularly among youth, consistent political leadership, enhanced coordination among development partners, improved monitoring and evaluation systems (M&E), conscious efforts to address the strong stigma attached to HIV/AIDS and the attendant discrimination, weak human and institutional capacities particularly at the district level and limited access to prevention, treatment, care and support. Other issues include the need to integrate PPTCT and paediatric care in the national health care delivery system and the development of a multi-sectoral policy on orphans and vulnerable children as well as strengthening service delivery especially for children and pregnant women. The 2005 survey also revealed that levels of knowledge about the spread of the disease, and therefore the knowledge of the risk of infection, is low and that without pro-actively addressing and promoting an understanding of the pandemic, prevalence levels may continue to increase. In this connection it is crucial that young people have access to relevant information and services. Information and services should be provided in both formal and non-formal ways (drama, village meetings) and levels of knowledge about the pandemic should be monitored.


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The policy dialogue among Government and development partners should therefore focus on the dissemination and use of an M&E framework,76 assess the adequacy of available resource levels, establish a task force to draft legislation to protect the rights of Persons Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), assist with the implementation of the Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GIPA) Principles, improve human and institutional capacities, improve overall coordination and improve access to prevention, treatment, care and support. A United Nations General Assembly resolution adopted on 23 December 2005, requested UNAIDS and its Co-sponsors to assist in “facilitating inclusive, country-driven processes, including consultations with relevant stake-holders, including non-governmental organization, civil society and the private sector, within existing national AIDS strategies, for scaling up HIV prevention, treatment, care and support with the aim of coming as close as possible to the goal of universal access to treatment by 2010 for all those who need it.”. With assistance from UNAIDS, Sierra Leone also undertook these consultations, including an evaluation of UNGASS commitments at national level, and identified obstacles and a road map to overcome these obstacles. On advocacy, public policy and the legal framework, the roadmap should include: enact laws to promote, protect and reinforce the rights, du-ties and responsibilities of PLWHA; regularly monitor the enforcement of enacted laws and seek swift redress against violation in special courts; and, increase the awareness and knowledge of HIV/AIDS issues. On strategic planning, alignment and harmonisation, the roadmap should include: Adopt and implement the Three Ones framework for coordination, monitoring and evaluation; build capacity for effective leadership and management at all levels; and, institute a regular (annual) review forum for partners. On sustainable financing, the road map should include: prioritise HIV/AIDS in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Programme (PRSP) and other national development programmes; and institute effective systems for the management and disbursement of HIV/AIDS funds. On human resources, the roadmap should include: produce a comprehensive human resource development plan and develop appropriate training programmes for each category of staff and provide incentives for staff. Similarly, on organisation and systems, the roadmap recommended: develop plans for the establishment of essen-tial structures; procure essential equipment and materials; and, recruit and train appropriate quantities and calibre of staff. On infrastructure the roadmap should include: pursue the development of infrastructures in PRSP imple-mentation and advocate for speeding up of ongoing decentralisation processes. On partnerships the roadmap is to emphasise the capacity of NAS to coordinate and oversee the national response and build the capacity of other partners; enhance coordination through effective means of communication and to strengthen District AIDS Com-mittees with financial and human resources support. Given the high mortality rates associated with TB and particularly malaria, the leading cause of death of children under five years of age, it remains important to continue to give sufficient attention to policies and measures that reduce tuberculosis and malaria related mortality rates. As indicated above, the HIV-prevalence in pregnant women is about twice that of the overall population. Malaria and TB, as communicable diseases, are also likely to affect women more than men, because of the generally lower nutritional status of women, restricted access to education and gainful employment. Moreover, once infected, women tend to put off seeking care because of gender-specific constraints, such as domestic responsibilities, ine-quality in decision making and the cost and distances of travel involved to seek care.


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Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability 1990 1995 1998 2001 2004

CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 ..

Forest area (% of land area) 43 .. .. 40 38

Improved sanitation facilities (% of population with access) .. .. .. .. 39

Improved water source (% of population with access) .. .. .. .. 57

Nationally protected areas (% of total land area) .. .. .. .. 2.1

Present Situation: The country has conducted a detailed biodiversity assessment and produced a Biodiversity Strategy and Action plan (BSAP).77 Sierra Leone is a signatory to most environmental conventions.78 Main environmental issues relate to unsustainable practices of agriculture (“slash and burn”), livestock farming, forest exploitation, fishing, energy production, mining, waste disposal and marine pollution. Slash and burn practices, commercial logging and fuel wood needs of rural communities are the main threats to forests and wildlife. About 80% of energy needs are met by fuel wood and charcoal. Overall, 47% of the popula-tion has access to safe water sources.79 This varies considerable by region with 87% in the Western area having access to safe water as compared to only 30% in the North. Improved sanitation facilities,80 are in use by 30% of the population. Again, the situation is much better in the urban areas where 64% have access to improved sanita-tion facilities as compared to 17% in rural areas.

Prospects for Achievement by 2015: The BSAP and the 2002 National Environment Protection Act are important milestones of intent, but capacity, action plans and a regulatory framework are also needed. Concerted action is needed to address the desperate sanitation situation. Urban water supply is covered by the Sierra Leone Water Company (SALWACO). Rural water supply and sanitation is covered by the Water and Sanitation Division (WSD) of the Ministry of Energy and Power. Although the World Bank, African Development Bank, UNICEF and over twenty international and national NGOs are working to address the basic problems, an overall compre-hensive plan with clear priorities remains needed, as well as much better coordination among the various partners. Policy guidelines and the planning capacity of the WSD need to be strengthened. Essential facilities, such as com-petent borehole drilling companies and suitable equipment are not available.81 The limited access to safe water and the precarious sanitation situation compound the health challenges and make it unlikely that the target for 2015 for this MDG, a reduction by half of people without access to safe water, will be met. Sierra Leone suffers from a significant degree of sub-standard housing and the major cities have specific areas of informal settlements that can be grouped as slums. Most slum dwellers live in Freetown and the provincial capi-tals. Recent studies provide elementary parameters of the housing conditions and environmental sanitation of slum dwellers. A survey of Susan’s Bay (2006), for instance, indicated that the area lacks basic amenities such as proper access roads, adequate water points, electricity, proper drainage systems, adequate sanitation and proper rubbish disposal facilities. Most houses are built of very poor quality materials; Congestion is one of the most significant housing problems. These findings are probably typical of the other 27 slum areas in Freetown. The findings point to the urgent need to adopt strategies for improvement in the lives of slums dwellers. The 2004 Population Census also provides a significant insight into national housing needs with 95% of house-holds requiring better sanitation facilities, 43% of households in needs of important structural repairs and over half of all households (54%) suffering from overcrowding.82 UNDP and HABITAT are currently assisting the Government in drafting a National Housing Act and a National Housing Policy that would repeal outdated legislation, provide uniform building legislation and provide a legal basis for human settlements planning and shelter development. MDG-7 can only be attained by factoring the issue of gender in all policy decisions. There is the important nexus between title to land by women, increased agricultural output, improved incomes and thus improved health. While there is lack of detailed data it stands to reason that the strong dependence on biomass as a source of energy falls disproportionately on women and girls in terms of collecting fuel wood. In addition, low levels of access to clean water sources close to the home also means an increase in the “time poverty” of women, spending many hours looking for water and fuel wood: time that could have been used productively. In the case of rural girls, the re-moval of some these pressures would probably mean greater access to schooling opportunities.


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Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development 1990 1995 1998 2001 2004

Aid per capita (current US$) 14.9 49.9 24.9 73.7 67.4

Debt service 83 10 63 9 73 10

Fixed line and mobile phone subscribers (per 1,000 people) 3.3 4 4.1 10.6 27.2

Internet users (per 1,000 people) 0 0 0.1 1.5 1.9

Personal computers (per 1,000 people) .. .. .. .. ..

Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and income) 10 54 33 105 11

Debt Service: In March 2002, Sierra Leone reached the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) decision point which made it eligible for US$950 million in debt service relief. This relief is equal to 80 percent of the country’s outstanding (foreign) external debt as of end-2000 (US$600 million in Net Present Value [NPV] terms). Under the HIPC Initiative, 10 out of 11 Paris Club creditors have agreed to provide debt relief. A significant debt reduc-tion is expected after Sierra Leone reaches the HIPC completion point. All non-Paris Club official creditors have agreed to deliver debt relief, or indicated their willingness to do so. A second debt buy-back operation, to be fi-nanced by the World Bank, for validated commercial obligations is also under preparation. Overall, Sierra Leone faces moderate risk of external debt distress, despite very low debt service requirements relative to exports, be-cause of the magnitude of shocks it could face in the future.84 Coordination: A Development Assistance Coordination Office (DACO) is situated in the office of the Vice Presi-dent and tasked with tracking and compiling data on aid disbursements to Sierra Leone. Detailed data from DACO for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 is available. These numbers, indicate growth of aid disbursements from US$256 million in 2003, to US$304 million in 2005. However, humanitarian and food assistance still made up US$95 mil-lion of 2003 disbursements. Peace and Development assistance, net of humanitarian and food assistance, has therefore grown from US$162 million in 2003 to US$285 million in 2005. Under auspices of the Consultative Group a Results Framework has been agreed, against which periodic progress reports are issued. Government, donors and NGOs regularly meet through the Development Partnership Committee (DEPAC). Transparency: The Government and the four development partners that provide regular budget support (World Bank, European Commission, DfID and the African Development Bank) have agreed in July of 2006 on an Im-proved Governance and Accountability Pact (IGAP), which lists a set of principles as well as ten areas of priority reforms. (Anti Corruption; Audits; Procurement; Civil Service Reform; Improving Service Delivery; EITI; De-centralisation; Non-State Actors; Anti-Money Laundering and Elections. Sierra Leone has endorsed the Kimberley Protocol and has promulgated national legislation for the inspection and registration of diamonds. The Govern-ment is expected to formally join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) during 2006. EITI and World Bank missions have been visiting since 2004 to assess the implementation of the EITI to the mining sector. These missions have concluded that Sierra Leone’s mining sector presents great challenges to the implementation of EITI, as most mining in this country is done at the small-scale “artisanal” level; diamonds receive more public attention, but rutile and bauxite could offer a more appropriate starting point for EITI; license payments are an important source of revenues. Although, significant capacity building will be necessary to move EITI forward, a civil society coalition dedicated to promoting greater transparency in the mining sector already exists and the donor community has strongly encouraged the Government to implement EITI.

Harmonisation: The Government and donors have agreed on plans to implement the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. A survey is currently ongoing, in which Sierra Leone participates. At the national level, a committee has been established under the chairmanship of the Office of the Vice President. Main donors, including UNDP and Ministry representatives are on the committee. A donor matrix and a survey report are currently being circu-lated to supplement the information routinely collected by DACO. An important issue, to be addressed by the committee, is the extent of donor financing that goes to non-state actors, arrangements for disclosure and compli-ance, and the mechanisms to ensure that this flow of financing fully supports national ownership and the contrib-utes to the coherence the Government and donors are seeking to establish and improve.


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Other MDG-related data: 1990 1995 1998 2001 2004

Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5

GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) 200 190 160 160 210

GNI, Atlas method (current US$) (billions) 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8 1.1

Gross capital formation (% of GDP) 10 5.6 5.3 6.7 10.6

Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 38.8 39.1 39.6 40.6 41.1

Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) .. .. .. .. 35.1

Population, total (millions) 4.1 4.1 4.3 4.7 5.3

Trade (% of GDP) 46.2 45.1 35.3 50.3 60.2


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5.2. Sierra Leone and Major Conventions and Human Rights instruments.

Conventions and Declarations Date of signature (s)

or ratification (r)

African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR, 1986)85 27 August 1981 (s)

21 September 1983 (r)

African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child86 14 April 1992 (s) 13 May 2002 (r)

African Union Convention on Combating Corruption

African Union Convention on OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa87

10 September 1969 (s) 28 December 1987 (r)

African Union Convention on Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and People’s Rights88 9 June 1998 (s)

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979) 11 December 1988

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD, 1965) 4 January 1969

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR, 1966) 23 November 1996

International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (CESCR, 1966) 23 November 1996

Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR-OP1) 23 August 1996

Protocol to the Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa89 9 December 2003

The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Punishment (CAT, 1984) 25 May 2001

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 1989) 2 September 1990

The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW) 15 September 2000

The Optional Protocol to Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimi-nation against Women (CEDAW-OP, 1979) 8 September 2000

The Optional Protocol to The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC-OP-AC)90 15 June 2002

The Optional Protocol to The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC-OP-SC)91 18 January 2002

The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR-OP2-DP)92

United Nations Convention against Corruption (CAC, 2005) 09 December 2003 (s) 30 September 2004 (r)

United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (2000)93 27 November 2001 (s)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) n.a.


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5.3. Human Development Indicators94

Indicator Sierra Leone Sub Saharan Africa

Human Development Index 0.335 0.472

Life expectancy at birth 41.0 46.1

Life expectancy index 0.27 0.35

Infant mortality rate 165 103

Under-five mortality rate 283 174

Maternal mortality ratio 2,000 n.a.

Population undernourished 50% 30%

Children under weight for age 27% n. a.

Children under height for age 34% n. a.

Infants with low birth weight 23% n. a.

Population – 1975 (millions) 2.9 313



Population Growth Rate 2004-2015 2.3% 2.2%

Adult literacy rate 35.1% 63.3%

Combined gross enrolment ratio for primary secondary and tertiary schools

65% 50%

Education index 0.45 0.57

GDP per capita (PPP) US$561 US$1.946

GDP index 0.29 0.50

Population with sustainable access to improved sanitation 39% 37%

Population with sustainable access to an improved water source 57% 56%

The above data are taken from the Human Development Report 2006. The specific information may not necessarily tally with information elsewhere in this report, as the above may relate to different years (usually 2003 or 2004) and may not yet have taken into account better and later estimates available in Sierra Leone. The purpose of the table is merely to show how Sierra Leone compares to Sub Saharan African on a number of critical parameters.


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Acronyms and Abbreviations:

ACHPR African Charter on Human and People’s Rights ACSD Accelerated Child Survival and Development ADI Africa Development Indicators AfDB African Development Bank AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome APRM African Peer Review Mechanism ARG Aids Response Group ART Anti-Retroviral Treatment ARV Anti-Retroviral ATM AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria BADEA Arabic Bank for Economic Development in Africa BEmONC Basic Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care Units BCPR Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (UNDP) CAC United Nations Convention against Corruption CAS Country Assistance Strategy CAT The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Punishment CBD Convention on Biodiversity CBO Community Based Organisation CCA Common Country Assessment CCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification CCM Country Coordinating Mechanism (GFATM) CCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights CCPR-OP1 Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights CCPR-OP2-DP The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

(Death Penalty) CDC Centre for Disease Control CEmONC Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care Units CSR Country Status Report (Education) CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CEDAW-OP The Optional Protocol to Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

against Women CERD International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination CESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights CG Consultative Group CHO Community Health Officer CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CMR Child Mortality Rate CMW The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and

Members of Their Families CSO Civil Society Organisation CRC International Convention on the Rights of the Child CRC-OP-AC The Optional Protocol to The Convention on the Rights of the Child (On the involvement of

children in armed conflict) CRC-OP-SC The Optional Protocol to The Convention on the Rights of the Child (On the sale of children,

child prostitution and child pornography) CSP Country Strategy Paper CTOC United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime DACDF Diamond Area Community Development Funds DACO Development Assistance Coordination Office DDR Disarmament Demobilisation and Reintegration DEPAC Development Partnership Committee DESA Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN) DfID Department for International Development (of the UK) DHS Demographic Household Survey


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DHMT District Health Management Team DOTS Directly Observed Treatment Short-course DPA Department of Political Affairs (UN) DPKO Department of Peace Keeping Operations (UN) EC European Community or European Commission ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States EDF European Development Fund EFA Education For All EIB European Investment Bank EITI Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative ERSG Executive Representative of the Secretary General ESP Education Sector Plan EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations FFS Farmer Field Schools FGM Female Genital Mutilation FSU Family Support Unit FTI Fast Track Initiative GBV Gender Based Violence GDP Gross Domestic Product GEF Global Environment Facility GER Gross Enrolment Rate GFATM Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria GIPA Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS GNI Gross National Income GoSL Government of Sierra Leone HDI Human Development Index HIPC Heavily Indebted Poor Countries HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HKI Helen Keller International HTP Harmful Traditional Practices ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IDA International Development Association IDPs Internally Displaced Persons IDB Islamic Development Bank IFIs International Financial Institutions IGAP Improved Governance and Accountability Pact ILO International Labour Organisation IMATT International Military Advisory Training Team IMF International Monetary Fund INGO International Non-Government Organisation IOM International Organisation for Migration IPT Intermittent Preventive Treatment IRC International Rescue Committee ITN Insecticide Treated Netting JCS Joint Country Strategy JCSP Joint Country Strategy Paper JICA Japanese International Cooperation Agency JSDP Justice Sector Development Programme JSS Junior Secondary School LAWCLA Lawyers’ Centre for Legal Assistance L.A.W.Y.E.R.S Legal Access through Women Yearning for Equality, Rights and Social Justice LGA Local Government Act (of Sierra Leone, 2004) MBB Marginal Budgeting for Bottlenecks MCH Maternal and Child Health MDAs Ministries, Departments and Agencies


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MDGs Millennium Development Goals MDGNA Millennium Development Goals Needs Assessment MDTF Multi-Donor Trust Fund MDRI Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative MEST Ministry of Education, Science and Technology M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MICS Multi Indicator Cluster Survey MMR Maternal Mortality Rate MNH Maternal and Neonatal Health MODEP Ministry of Development and Economic Planning MOF Ministry of Finance MoU Memorandum of Understanding MRU Mano River Union MTEF Medium Term Expenditure Framework MTI Ministry of Trade and Industry NAS National AIDS Secretariat NACS National Anti-Corruption Strategy NBSAP National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan NEC National Electoral Council NEPA National Environmental Protection Act NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development NER Net Enrolment Rate NEWMAP Network of Women Ministers and Parliamentarians NGO Non-governmental organisation NHRC National Human Rights Commission NPA National Power Authority NPV Net Present Value NS Not Stated OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN) OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN) OPEC Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries OVC Orphans and Vulnerable Children PBC Peace Building Commission (UN) PBF Peace Building Fund (UN) PCS Peace Consolidation Strategy PER Public Expenditure Review PETS Public Expenditure Tracking Survey PHU Primary Health Care Unit PLWHA Persons Living with HIV/AIDS PMTCT Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission PPG Public and publicly guaranteed PPP Purchasing Power Parity PPRC Political Parties Registration Commission PPTCT Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission PRS Poverty Reduction Strategy PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971) REDATAM Retrieval of Data for Small Areas by Microcomputer REHEP Rehabilitation of Basic Education Project RHCS Reproductive Health Commodity Security RSLAF Republic of Sierra Leonean Armed Forces SALWACO Sierra Leone Water Company SECHN State Enrolled Community Health Nurse SHARP Sierra Leone HIV/AIDS Response Project SILSEP Sierra Leone Security Sector Programme SLANGO Sierra Leone Association of Non-governmental Organisations


Page 49 of 59

SLBA Sierra Leone Bar Association SLCCIA Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture SLIBA Sierra Leone Indigenous Business Association SLIHS Sierra Leone Integrated Household Survey SLIS Sierra Leone Information System SLP Sierra Leone Police Forces SLPA Sierra Leone Ports Authority SLRA Sierra Leone Roads Authority SRN State Registered Nurse SSL Statistics Sierra Leone SWG Sector Working Group TBA Traditional Birth Assistant TRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission UA Universal Access (to treatment, prevention, care and education on HIV/AIDS) UK United Kingdom UN United Nations UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS UNCAC United Nations Convention Against Corruption UNCT United Nations Country Team UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework UNDGO United Nations Development Group Office UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNDT United Nations District Team UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNGASS United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV UN-HABITAT United Nations Human Settlements Programme UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organisation UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women UNIOSIL United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra Leone USAID United States Agency for International Development VAD Vitamin A Deficiency VCCT Voluntary Counselling and Confidential Testing WB World Bank WFP World Food Programme WHO World Health Organisation WSD Water and Sanitation Division WTO World Trade Organisation YES Youth Employment Scheme


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6. References: 6.1. Africa Development Indicators (ADI), World Bank, October 2006.

6.2. Annual Progress Report, Sierra Leone Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, September 2006.

6.3. Combined Initial, 2nd – 5th Periodic Country Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children Af-fairs, Freetown, Sierra Leone, November 2006.

6.4. Dirk Westhof: “Best Estimates of social indicators children in Sierra Leone 1985-2006,” UNICEF, October 2006.

6.5. Draft Education Country Status Report, “Education in Sierra Leone; Present Challenges, Future Opportunities” World Bank and Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), October 2006.

6.6. E. Agongo: “Situational Analysis of Child Survival and Maternal Mortality Reduction Programmes in Sierra Leone,” 2006.

6.7. Food Security Strategy for Sierra Leone, Government of Sierra Leone, Ministry of Agriculture, For-estry and Food Security, Freetown, September 2004.

6.8. Francis Foord and Katie Paine: “Situational Analysis of Orphans and other Vulnerable Children in Si-erra Leone,” July 2005.

6.9. Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals, World Bank, April 2003.

6.10. Harnessing Hope: Catalysing Efforts for Accountability, Participation, and Reconciliation in Sierra Leone, a Peace Consolidation Strategy, UNIOSIL, March 2006.

6.11. Henrietta Cole: “he Improvement of Slums and Informal Settlements in Freetown”, Government of Sierra Leone, UNDP & UN-Habitat study, May 2006.

6.12. Human Development Report 2006, UNDP, 9 November 2006.

6.13. Joint EC/DFID Country Strategy (JCS) for Sierra Leone, 2007-2012 (DFID) and 2008-2013 (EC).

6.14. Joseph Muana and Mwaluma Gegbe: “Sierra Leone Housing Situation and Characteristics – Analysis of the 2004 Population and Housing Census”, UNDP/UN-HABITAT study, 2006.

6.15. Justice Sector Development Programme, Inception Report, June 2005.

6.16. Monitoring the Situation of Children and Women. Findings from the Sierra Leone Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2005. Preliminary Report. August 2006. Statistics Sierra Leone, with assistance from UNICEF.

6.17. National Population-based HIV Seroprevalence Survey of Sierra Leone, Summary Report, National HIV/AIDS Secretariat, 2005.

6.18. National Strategic Plan for Malaria Control in Sierra Leone, 2004-2008, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, March 2004.

6.19. Needs Assessment to Align National Plans with the Millennium Development Goals in Sierra Leone (MDGNA).

6.20. OECD/DAC Policy Brief: Poverty and Health in Developing Countries: Key Actions, November 2003.

6.21. Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Progress Report Sierra Leone, April 2006. Progress on Pillar II: promoting pro-poor sustainable growth for food security and job creation.

6.22. Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. A National Programme for Food Security, Job Creation and Good Governance (2005-2007), Government of Sierra Leone, March 2005.

6.23. Rebecca Surtees: “Child Trafficking in Sierra Leone,” UNICEF, 2005.

6.24. Report of Pillar Working Group 2 & 3 meeting of 7 November 2006 to review the draft CCA.

6.25. Resolution of the Ministers of Health on Health Financing in Africa. Special Summit of African Union on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (ATM), 2-4 May 2006, Abuja Nigeria.


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6.26. Sierra Leone Encyclopaedia 2006

6.27. Sierra Leone Human Resources for Health Development Plan – 2004-2008.

6.28. Sierra Leone MDG Report 2005

6.29. Sierra Leone Vision 2025: “Sweet Salone” United People, Progressive Nation, Attractive Country. Strategies for National Transformation, August 2003.

6.30. UN Country Programming Orientation Retreat CCA/UNDAF Exercise 12-13 July 2006, 24 July 2006.

6.31. UN Reform: Alive in Sierra Leone. Implementing and Integrated Approach, 2006.

6.32. UNICEF, Water and Environmental Sanitation Programme, May 2005.

6.33. UNIDO, Project Formulation for the Japanese Trust Fund for Human Security, Consultancy Report, Edward Y. Koroma, National Consultant, March 2006.

6.34. War-related Sexual Violence in Sierra Leone. A Population Based Assessment, Physicians for Human Rights, Boston, 2002,

6.35. World Bank, Country Assistance Strategy, May 2005.


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Annex I: Share of Wage or Salary Employment in Non-Agriculture Employment by Region and Sex.

Paid Employees

Total Non-Agricultural

Employment

Share of Wage

Employment in Non-

Agricultural Employment

Paid Employees


Employment

Share of men in Non-Agricultural

Employment

Paid Employees


Employment

Share of women in

Non-Agricultural

Employment

Eastern 22,050 266,838 8.3% 17,417 161,112 10.8% 4,633 105,726 4.4%Northern 23,143 434,795 5.3% 18,282 202,447 9.0% 4,861 232,348 2.1%Southern 20,441 189,541 10.8% 15,615 100,898 15.5% 4,826 88,643 5.4%Western 75,360 290,274 26.0% 55,962 151,446 37.0% 19,398 138,828 14.0%Sierra Leone 140,994 1,181,448 11.9% 107,276 615,903 17.4% 33,718 565,545 6.0%

Source: Statistics Sierra Leone - Unpublished 2004 Census Information.

Males and Females Males FemalesShare of Wage or Salary Employment in Non-Agriculture Emploment by Region and Sex


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Annex II: Population Data & Literacy Rates – Sierra Leone (Source: Census 2004)

All TotalTOTAL 3,439,284 1,327,499 38.6% 2,071,587 60.2% 40,198 1.2%Adult 15+ 2,717,728 905,468 33.3% 1,778,938 65.5% 33,322 1.2%Youth 15-24 795,231 367,987 46.3% 419,085 52.7% 8,159 1.0%10-14 721,556 422,031 58.5% 292,649 40.6% 6,876 1.0%15-19 381,114 202,711 53.2% 175,123 46.0% 3,280 0.9%20-24 414,117 165,276 39.9% 243,962 58.9% 4,879 1.2%25-29 404,754 132,946 32.8% 267,069 66.0% 4,739 1.2%30-34 312,031 102,317 32.8% 205,867 66.0% 3,847 1.2%35-39 299,509 90,309 30.2% 205,608 68.6% 3,592 1.2%40-44 213,169 64,517 30.3% 145,860 68.4% 2,792 1.3%45-49 176,903 50,236 28.4% 124,466 70.4% 2,201 1.2%50-54 128,387 32,565 25.4% 93,927 73.2% 1,895 1.5%55-59 84,815 20,893 24.6% 62,739 74.0% 1,183 1.4%60-64 87,675 14,527 16.6% 71,766 81.9% 1,382 1.6%65+ 215,254 29,171 13.6% 182,551 84.8% 3,532 1.6%

Males TotalTOTAL 1,650,899 810,273 49.1% 824,388 49.9% 16,238 1.0%Adult 15+ 1,279,669 580,176 45.3% 686,573 53.7% 12,920 1.0%Youth 15-24 370,725 218,629 59.0% 149,008 40.2% 3,088 0.8%10-14 371,230 230,097 62.0% 137,815 37.1% 3,318 0.9%15-19 181,892 118,818 65.3% 61,832 34.0% 1,242 0.7%20-24 188,833 99,811 52.9% 87,176 46.2% 1,846 1.0%25-29 181,050 79,682 44.0% 99,700 55.1% 1,668 0.9%30-34 139,656 63,374 45.4% 74,829 53.6% 1,453 1.0%35-39 138,068 59,653 43.2% 77,087 55.8% 1,328 1.0%40-44 104,641 45,236 43.2% 58,199 55.6% 1,206 1.2%45-49 94,219 37,568 39.9% 55,670 59.1% 981 1.0%50-54 64,303 24,905 38.7% 38,588 60.0% 810 1.3%55-59 44,048 16,617 37.7% 26,985 61.3% 446 1.0%60-64 39,093 11,359 29.1% 27,244 69.7% 490 1.3%65+ 103,866 23,153 22.3% 79,263 76.3% 1,450 1.4%

Females TotalTOTAL 1,788,385 517,226 28.9% 1,247,199 69.7% 23,960 1.3%Adult 15+ 1,438,059 325,292 22.6% 1,092,365 76.0% 20,402 1.4%Youth 15-24 424,506 149,358 35.2% 270,077 63.6% 5,071 1.2%10-14 350,326 191,934 54.8% 154,834 44.2% 3,558 1.0%15-19 199,222 83,893 42.1% 113,291 56.9% 2,038 1.0%20-24 225,284 65,465 29.1% 156,786 69.6% 3,033 1.3%25-29 223,704 53,264 23.8% 167,369 74.8% 3,071 1.4%30-34 172,375 38,943 22.6% 131,038 76.0% 2,394 1.4%35-39 161,441 30,656 19.0% 128,521 79.6% 2,264 1.4%40-44 108,528 19,281 17.8% 87,661 80.8% 1,586 1.5%45-49 82,684 12,668 15.3% 68,796 83.2% 1,220 1.5%50-54 64,084 7,660 12.0% 55,339 86.4% 1,085 1.7%55-59 40,767 4,276 10.5% 35,754 87.7% 737 1.8%60-64 48,582 3,168 6.5% 44,522 91.6% 892 1.8%65+ 111,388 6,018 5.4% 103,288 92.7% 2,082 1.9%

NS

Literate Illiterate NS

Literate Illiterate

Sierra Leone: Population 10 years of Age & over By Literacy, Age and Sex

Literate Illiterate NS


Page 54 of 59

2004

500 300 100 100 300 500

0-4

5-9

10-14

15-19

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60-64

65+

Age

Population (thousands)

MALE FEMALE

2015

700 500 300 100 100 300 500 700

0-4

5-9

10-14

15-19

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60-64

65+

Age

Population (thousands)

MALE FEMALE

Population Pyramids 2004 and 201595

Male and Female Literacy in Sierra Leone (2004 Census)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65+

Age Groups

Male LiteracyFemale Literacy


Page 55 of 59

Annex III: Population Distribution by Districts and Sex Ratios

1963 Population

2004 Population

Growth Since 1963

2004 Share of

Population 2004 Sex

Ratio

Bo 209,754 463,668 121.1% 9.3% 96%Bombali 198,776 408,390 105.5% 8.2% 93%Bonthe 73,245 129,947 77.4% 2.6% 93%Kailahun 150,236 358,190 138.4% 7.2% 94%Kambia 137,806 270,462 96.3% 5.4% 90%Kenema 227,428 497,948 118.9% 10.0% 102%Koinadugu 129,061 265,758 105.9% 5.3% 88%Kono 167,915 335,401 99.7% 6.7% 106%Moyamba 167,425 260,910 55.8% 5.2% 90%Port Loko 247,463 453,746 83.4% 9.1% 88%Pujehun 84,869 228,392 169.1% 4.6% 93%Sherbro Urban 6,894 9,740 41.3% 0.2% 88%Tonkolili 184,460 347,197 88.2% 7.0% 87%Western Rural 67,106 174,249 159.7% 3.5% 95%Western Urban 127,917 772,873 504.2% 15.5% 98% 2,180,355 4,976,871 128.3% 100.0% 94% Sex Ratio is Number of Males as Percentage of Number of Females. Source: Statistics Sierra Leon, 2004 Population Census.


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Map No. 3902 Rev. 5 UNITED NATIONS Department for Peacekeeping Operations January 2004 Cartographic Section

Annex IV: Map of Sierra Leone


Page 57 of 59

1 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. A National Programme for Food Security, Job Creation and Good Governance (2005-

2007), Government of Sierra Leone, March 2005. 2 Sierra Leone Vision 2025: “Sweet Salone”, United People, Progressive Nation, Attractive Country. Strategies for National

Transformation, August 2003. 3 Harnessing Hope: Catalysing Efforts for Accountability, Participation, and Reconciliation in Sierra Leone, a Peace

Consolidation Strategy, UNIOSIL, March 2006. 4 Most documents on Sierra Leone and its development partners can be found on-line in: Sierra Leone Encyclopaedia 2006 5 UNCT Sierra Leone, UNDAF Midterm Review November 2005, “Peace, Recovery and Development – Getting there together” 6 World Bank, Country Assistance Strategy, May 2005. 7 Joint EC/DFID Country Strategy (JCS) for Sierra Leone, 2007-2012 (DFID) and 2008-2013 (EC). 8 UN Country Programming Orientation Retreat CCA/UNDAF Exercise 12-13 July 2006, 24 July 2006. 9 MDG Needs Assessment (MDGNA) to Align National Plans with the Millennium Development Goals in Sierra Leone, UNDP,

2006 10 The three “Pillars” of Sierra Leone’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) comprise: (1) Promote good governance, security and

peace building; (2) Promote pro-poor sustainable growth for food security and job creation, and (3) Promote human development. Within each Pillar, various sector Working Groups have been set up to monitor the progress of the implementation of the PRS. The draft CCA was reviewed by an ad hoc meeting of the Pillar Working Group 3, with participation co-opted from the Pillar Working Group 2. A report of this review is available.

11 UN Reform: Alive in Sierra Leone. Implementing an Integrated Approach, 2006. 12 The country is administratively structured in three provinces, Eastern Province, Northern Province, Southern Province and the

Western Area, which includes Freetown. The three Provinces are subdivided in twelve districts: Eastern Province: Kailahun, Kenema and Kono districts; Northern Province: Bombali, Kambia, Koinadugu, Port Loko and Tonkolili districts. Southern Province: Bo, Bonthe, Pujehun and Moyamba districts.

13 Draft Education Country Status Report, “Education in Sierra Leone; Present Challenges, Future Opportunities”, World Bank and Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), October 2006, page 10.

14 Combined Initial, 2nd – 5th Periodic Country Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), page 17. This clause of the Constitution is one of the “entrenched clauses” that can only be altered via referendum.

15 Combined Initial, 2nd – 5th Periodic Country Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), pages 6 & 10.

16 Food Security Strategy for Sierra Leone, Government of Sierra Leone, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Freetown, September 2004.

17 Monitoring the Situation of Children and Women. Findings from the Sierra Leone Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2005. Preliminary Report. August 2006. Statistics Sierra Leone, with assistance from UNICEF.

18 Helen Keller International (HKI), http://www.hki.org/network/SierraLeone.html 19 Rebecca Surtees: “Child Trafficking in Sierra Leone”, UNICEF, 2005. See also: CEDAW draft report, page 36. The

Government adopted the Anti-Human Trafficking Act No. 7 of 2005 which became effective on 18 August 2005. Law enforcement officers are yet to be trained on the provisions of the Act to ensure effective implementation.

20 The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child entered into force in 1999. Sierra Leone signed the Charter on 14 April 1992, ratified the Charter on 13 May 2002 and deposited its ratification with the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights on 18 June 2002.

21 MICS 2005, page 21. 22 MICS 2005. See also: Francis Foord and Katie Paine: “Situational Analysis of Orphans and other Vulnerable Children in Sierra

Leone”, July 2005. Dirk Westhof: “Best Estimates of social indicators children in Sierra Leone 1985-2006”, UNICEF, October 2006.

23 MICS 2005. 24 Draft Education Country Status Report, “Education in Sierra Leone; Present Challenges, Future Opportunities”, World Bank

and Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), October 2006, page 27. 25 Boys GER, 2003-2004: 125; Girls GER, 2003-2004: 121. Gender parity index is thus 121/125 or 0.97. Draft Education Status

Report, 2006, page 92. 26 http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/reports/2000/sierraleone_01-2000.cfm 27 Quoted by IMC, International Medical Corps at http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/331/7519/720-b 28 WHO defines the undefined burden of mental problems as the economic and social burden for families, communities and

countries. This burden has not been efficiently measured because of lack of quantitative data and difficulties in measuring and evaluating. The hidden burden refers to the burden associated with stigma and violations of human rights and freedoms. This is also difficult to quantify as many cases remain concealed and unreported


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29 http://www.wfmh.org/newsletter/nl023/kissyhosp023.html 30 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Progress Report Sierra Leone, April 2006. Progress on Pillar II: promoting pro-poor

sustainable growth for food security and job creation. 31 Justice Sector Development Programme (JSDP), Inception Report, June 2005. 32 Aid flows 2003-2005. Data supplied by DACO. 33 Other donor commitments may be captured only indirectly, as for instance the Saudi Arabian support to food aid for Sierra

Leone supplied through WFP. This would have been lumped under “UN”. 34 REDATAM software (REtrieval of DATa for small Areas by Microcomputer). 35 Workshop on the Paris Declaration: Implications and Implementation, Bamako, Mali, July 2006; Arab States Regional Work-

shop, Marakech, December 2004, From Paris to Practice: Tools for better Aid Coordination and Management, Bangkok, June 2006. See also: http://www.mfdr.org/ and http://www.devaid.org/

36 Relevance of UNHCR’s Activities to the MDGs, EC/55/SC/INF.1, Standing Committee, 34th Meeting, 13 September 2005. Letter by IOM’s Director General to President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, 29 March 2005.

37 Annual Progress Report, Sierra Leone Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, September 2006. 38 The Peace Building Fund will marshal resources at the disposal of the international community to advise and propose

integrated strategies for post-conflict recovery, focusing attention on reconstruction, institution-building and sustainable development, in countries emerging from conflict. The target for the Fund is US$250 million. So far, US$140 has already been pledged. The Commission will specifically: (1) Propose integrated strategies for post-conflict peace building and recovery; (2) Help to ensure predictable financing for early recovery activities and sustained financial investment over the medium- to longer-term; (3) Extend the period of attention by the international community to post-conflict recovery, and (4) Develop best practices on issues that require extensive collaboration among political, military, humanitarian and development actors. See also: General Assembly resolution 60/287 of 21 September 2006.

39 MDG Needs Assessment (MDGNA) to Align National Plans with the Millennium Development Goals in Sierra Leone, UNDP, 2006.

40 The recently released “Africa Development Indicators” by the World Bank, provide little or no additional information for 2005 in the case of Sierra Leone, compared to the information available in the World Development Indicators database. Africa Development Indicators (ADI), World Bank, October 2006.

41 Data is from the World Development Indicators database for September 2006. The numbers in italics refer to data that may be for a different period than the period indicated.

42 World Bank data and International Development Association (IDA) draft Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Sierra Leone for the period 2006-2009.

43 Joint EC/DFID Country Strategy (JCS) for Sierra Leone, 2007-2012 (DFID) and 2008-2013 (EC). 44 United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Project Formulation For The Japanese Trust Fund For Human Security,

Consultancy Report, Edward Y. Koroma, National Consultant, March 2006. 45 Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals, World Bank, 2003, page 7. 46 Sierra Leone MDG Report 2005. 47 2004 Education Sector Review. 48 See MICS 2005, page 8. 49 Draft Education Country Status Report, “Education in Sierra Leone; Present Challenges, Future Opportunities”, World Bank

and Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), October 2006. 50 CEDAW report, page 50. 51 Education Country Strategy Report, pages 89-92. 52 Education Country Strategy Report, pages 20. 53 As % of total non-agricultural employment. 54 World Bank, Gender Equality & the Millennium Development Goals, April 2003, page 12. 55 CEDAW report, page 41. 56 CEDAW report, page 44. 57 CEDAW report, page 6. 58 See: “War-related Sexual Violence in Sierra Leone. A Population Based Assessment”, Physicians for Human Rights, Boston,

2002, which suggests that non-war-related sexual violence, is considerable in Sierra Leone. 59 Justice Sector Development Programme, Inception Report, June 2005. 60 “More than half of the women [interviewed in the Physicians for Human Rights research] reported that their husbands had the

right to beat them and that it was a wife’s duty to have sex with her husband even if she did not want to.” Report quoted above, Executive Summary, page 9.

61 Information supplied by UNICEF.


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62 Combined Initial, 2nd – 5th Periodic Country Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against

Women (CEDAW), page 17. This clause of the Constitution is one of the “entrenched clauses” that can only be altered via referendum.

63 Combined Initial, 2nd – 5th Periodic Country Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), pages 6 & 10.

64 CEDAW report, page 50. 65 Again, some of the data in the World Development Indicators quoted here is different from the more recent estimates used in

the text. 66 Sierra Leone Human Resources for Health Development Plan – 2004-2008, page 29. 67 OECD/DAC Policy Brief: Poverty and Health in Developing Countries: Key Actions, November 2003. 68 DACO data on Development Disbursements in 2005. 69 Situational Analysis of Child Survival and Maternal Mortality Reduction Programmes in Sierra Leone, Dr. E. Agongo, 2006. See

pages 39-42 on health sector financing. See also: Resolution of the Ministers of Health on Health Financing in Africa. Special Summit of African Union on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (ATM), 2-4 May 2006, Abuja Nigeria, which again reiterates the need for Governments to intensify efforts to reach the 15% target adopted by the Ministers in 2001.

70 Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals, World Bank, 2004, page 15. 71 CEDAW report, page 66. 72 CEDAW report, pages 63-69. 73 The 2005 MDG Report estimates one fourth, or 25% of births as attended by trained personnel, page 35. 74 National Population-based HIV Seroprevalence Survey of Sierra Leone, Summary Report, National HIV/AIDS Secretariat,

2005. (The survey was funded by the World Bank). 75 2005 MDG Report, page 39. 76 Currently being printed and scheduled for release in December 2006. 77 Global Environment Facility (GEF) & UNDP, 2003. 78 Convention on Biodiversity (CBD); UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); UN Convention to Combat

Desertification (CCD); Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (RAMSAR); Convention on Biosafety; UN Convention on the Law of the Sea; Basel Convention; Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol.

79 Improved drinking water sources”: piped water, public tap, borehole/tube well, protected well, protected spring or rain water. MICS 2005, page 16.

80 Improved sanitation facilities: flush toilets connected to sewage systems or septic tanks, other flush toilets, improved pit latrines and traditional pit latrines with slabs. MICS 2005, page 17.

81 UNICEF, Water and Environmental Sanitation Programme, May 2005. 82 Overcrowding is defined as more than two persons per room. Half of all overcrowded households have 3-6 persons per room

and about one in five households have more than 10 persons per room. (See: J. Muana and M. Gegbe, Sierra Leone Housing situation,2006)

83 PPG (Public and publicly guaranteed) and IMF only, % of exports of Goods &Services, excluding workers' remittances. 84 World Bank, Country Assistance Strategy, May 2005. 85 The Charter was adopted in Nairobi, Kenya, in June of 1981. It came into force on 21 October 1986. 86 The Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child was adopted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 11 July 1990. It entered into

force on 29 November 1999. 87 The African Refugee Convention was adopted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 10 September 1969. It entered into force on 20

June 1974. 88 The Convention on the African Court for Human Rights was adopted in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 10 June 1998. It

entered into force on 29 January of 2004. 89 The Protocol was adopted in Maputo, Mozambique, on 11 July 2003. It shall enter into force thirty (30) days after the deposit of

the fifteenth (15th) instrument of ratification. The Protocol has been signed by 21 countries. However, none have ratified the Protocol. The Protocol has therefore not yet entered into force.

90 On the involvement of children in armed conflict (AC). 91 On the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (SC). 92 On the death penalty (DP). 93 The Convention against Transnational Organised Crime has the following Protocols: (1) Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and

Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children; (2) Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Air and Sea; and (3) Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition. Sierra Leone has signed the Convention as well as the three protocols on 27 November 2001.

94 Human Development Report 2006, 9 November 2006. 95 Source: Education Country Strategy Report.

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