A Breakthrough Approach to Rural Maternal Health in Sierra Leone

Maternal health in Sierra Leone has seen progress in recent years, but rural women continue to face some of the most challenging conditions in the world. While antenatal care (ANC) attendance is relatively high, access to safe Caesarean sections (C-sections) at referral hospitals remains one of the weakest links in the healthcare system. Long travel times, poor roads, limited blood supply, and gaps in surgical readiness continue to cost lives.

Building on a Proven Model

For over three years, Maternal Health Africa (MHA) has been building and refining a hub-and-spoke model designed for rural Sierra Leone. Anchored at the TeenSafer Campus in Makeni Town, this approach extends services to clusters of Peripheral Health Units (PHUs) within a two-hour travel radius. PHUs are the backbone of community care, operating at a level akin to Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (BEmONC).

Through this model, women are better connected to lifesaving services, midwives are trained and equipped, and referrals become more coordinated and timely. It’s a grassroots system designed to meet women where they are.

MHF’s Role: Capital Resourcing and Expansion

The Maternal Health Foundation (MHF) has secured a new capital grant to strengthen this model and expand its footprint. Working alongside MHA, MHF will:

• Invest in Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) for ANC screening of high-risk pregnancies, giving midwives the ability to detect complications earlier.

• Support capital improvements in PHUs, including solar power and communications to enable virtual clinics.

• Contribute to data analysis and future planning, ensuring that resources are deployed strategically and sustainably.

While MHA continues to drive the operational leadership, MHF’s role is to provide the capital resourcing and long-term planning needed to expand and sustain this approach.

A Breakthrough Opportunity

The vision is bold: strategically position safe C-section capacity closer to clusters of PHUs so women can reach lifesaving surgery within reach of their communities. This would mark a true breakthrough in Sierra Leone’s maternal health outcomes, helping to overcome the delays and barriers that have long stood in the way of safe motherhood.

By combining MHA’s proven grassroots model with MHF’s capital support and strategic analysis, we are working to shift the trajectory of maternal health in rural Sierra Leone.