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CAUTION: The following links and
accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation
in Sierra Leone in the early years of the 21st Century. Some
of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are
unsubstantiated, misleading or even false. No attempt has been
made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this
page and others to see which aspects of poverty are of particular interest to
you. You might be interested in
exploring the relationship between distribution of labor and per-capita GDP,
for example. Perhaps your paper could
focus on life expectancy or infant mortality.
Other factors of interest might be unemployment, literacy, access to
basic services, etc. On the other
hand, you might choose to include some of the possible outgrowths of poverty
such as Human Trafficking,
Street Children,
or even Prostitution. There is a lot to the subject of
Poverty. Scan other countries as well
as this one. Draw comparisons between
activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. *** Extreme Weather *** Since mid-August,
Sierra Leone has been experiencing heavy rainfall that caused flash floods
and mudslides resulting in casualties and damage. According to the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), in
the period 29 August - 7 September, eight people died, four are still
missing, 79 others were injured, and more than 12,900 people have been
affected by flash floods and landslides. The capital Freetown is one of the
worst-hit areas. *** ARCHIVES *** The World Factbook – Sierra Leone U.S. Central Intelligence Agency CIA www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/sl.html [accessed 1 December
2020] World Factbook
website has moved to ---> www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/sierra-leone/ [accessed 9 January 2021] ECONOMIC OVERVIEW - extremely poor;
nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture;
substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources but still recovering
from a civil war that destroyed most institutions; growth driven by mining -
particularly iron ore GDP -
per capita (PPP): $1,600 (2017
est.) Labor
force - by occupation: agriculture:
61.1% industry:
5.5% services: 33.4% (2014 est.) Unemployment
rate: 15% (2017
est.) Population
below poverty line: 70.2% (2004
est.) Maternal
mortality rate: 1,120
deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) Infant mortality
rate: total: 63.6
deaths/1,000 live births Life
expectancy at birth: total population: 59.8 years Drinking
water source: improved: total: 69.8% of
population Physicians
density: 0.03 physicians/1,000 population (2017) Sanitation
facility access: improved: total: 49.6% of
population Electricity
access: electrification - total population: 26% (2019) The
Borgen Project – Sierra Leone borgenproject.org/category/sierra-leone/ [accessed 5 March 2021] The Borgen Project works with U.S. leaders to utilize the
United States’ platform behind efforts toward improving living conditions for
the world’s poor. It is an innovative,
national campaign that is working to make poverty a focus of U.S. foreign
policy. It believes that leaders of
the most powerful nation on earth should be doing more to address global
poverty. From ending segregation to providing women with the right to vote,
nearly every wrong ever righted in history was achieved through advocacy. The
Borgen Project addresses the big picture, operating
at the political level advancing policies and programs that improve living
conditions for those living on less than $1 per day. ~
Maternal Mortality In Sierra Leone borgenproject.org/maternal-mortality-in-sierra-leone-2/ ~
Decreasing Maternal Mortality Rate In Sierra Leone borgenproject.org/decreasing-maternal-in-sierra-leone/ ~
The Vlogbrothers’ Partners In Health Partnership borgenproject.org/vlogbrothers-partners-in-health-partnership/ ~
Women’s Rights In Sierra Leone borgenproject.org/womens-rights-in-sierra-leone/ ~
Homelessness In Sierra Leone borgenproject.org/homelessness-in-sierra-leone/ ~
4 Organizations Improving Education In Sierra Leone borgenproject.org/education-in-sierra-leone-3/ ~
Battling Poverty In Sierra Leone borgenproject.org/poverty-in-sierra-leone/ Tongo Wata: Addressing Poverty in Sierra Leone Beti Sharew, Borgen Magazine, Seattle Washington, 30 November 2020 www.borgenmagazine.com/tongo-wata/ [accessed 30 November 2020] CHALLENGES
IN SIERRA LEONE -- Some of the most pressing challenges the community faces
include access to safe water, food insecurity and the education of young
girls. Only 2% of Sierra Leone has access to safe water and sanitation and
more than half of the population lives below the global poverty line. The
literacy rate for women stands at 34% which is 18% lower than the literacy
rate for men. THE WORK
OF ONE VILLAGER -- Most families in Tongo are
reluctant to allow their daughters to go to school because they are food insecure.
Girls are also responsible for collecting water for the family. Especially in
areas of water scarcity, young girls walk up to 15 miles to fetch water. Action
Against Hunger - Sierra Leone www.actionagainsthunger.org/countries/africa/sierra-leone [accessed 21 March 2021] Sierra
Leone’s populations face a range of humanitarian challenges, from limited
infrastructure for providing safe drinking water or sanitation improvements,
to rampant hunger and very high infant mortality rates. In response, the
government developed a strategy to prioritize four key areas: improving
access to electricity, developing a national transportation network,
increasing productivity in agriculture and aquaculture, and taking on the
nation’s social and humanitarian challenges. Sierra
Leone remains highly vulnerable, with the Ebola crisis having further
weakened the country. This crisis, and rampant inflation,
have had an impact on the country’s food security. Chronic
malnutrition remains a major problem with 31.3% of children suffering from
stunted growth. Reducing maternal mortality, currently one of the highest
ratios in the world, is a national priority. Lack of
access to basic services is also problematic, with 32.2% of the population
having no access to a source of drinking water. The
World Bank in Sierra Leone www.worldbank.org/en/country/sierraleone/overview [accessed 21 April 2021] The
World Bank works closely with development partners to support Sierra Leone in
fighting poverty, promoting economic development and improving living
standards. Looking back a few years … Advameg, Inc., Encyclopedia of the Nations www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Sierra-Leone-ECONOMY.html [accessed 9 January 2021] Although
Sierra Leone is a potentially rich country with diverse resources, which include
diamonds, gold, rutile, bauxite, and a variety of agricultural products, the
economy has been severely depressed over the past two decades. In
2002, Sierra Leone qualified for $950 million in debt relief under the
IMF/World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Under the
IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), and with the aid of
bilateral donors, the country is implementing strategies to reduce poverty
and introduce stability by decentralizing government functions, supporting
good governance and restoring local government, improving education and
health programs, building an effective police force, and fighting corruption. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT
COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Prof. Martin
Patt, "Poverty – Sierra Leone",
http://gvnet.com/poverty/SierraLeone.htm, [accessed <date>] |
