Health Minister Urges Urgent Action to Reduce Maternal and Child Deaths
Alusine Ahmed Kargbo Minister of Health Dr Austin Demby has called on healthcare workers and health authorities to strengthen accountability and improve the quality of care to eliminate preventable maternal and child deaths in Sierra Leone.
He made the call on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, during an accountability meeting at City Hall in Freetown attended by doctors, nurses, midwives, hospital managers, council officials, community leaders and development partners from the Western Area Urban and Western Area Rural districts.
The meeting reviewed progress under the Ministry of Health’s 300 Days of Activism for Triple Zero campaign, which aims to achieve zero preventable maternal deaths, zero preventable child deaths and zero-dose children.
According to Dr Demby, maternal deaths have declined by 31.3 per cent compared with the same period last year, while child deaths have fallen by 12.7 per cent. The campaign has also reached 10,294 children who had not previously received any vaccines, exceeding the target by reaching 114 per cent of the intended coverage.
Despite these gains, the Minister expressed concern over the continued loss of lives from preventable causes, stressing that more decisive action was needed to protect mothers and children.
He disclosed that six mothers died nationwide during Week 42 of the campaign, describing the deaths as a reminder of the urgent need to address weaknesses in the healthcare system.
“Our ambition is ZERO,” Dr Demby said, emphasising the need for stronger interventions to prevent maternal and child deaths.
The Minister identified postpartum haemorrhage, uterine rupture and infections as major causes of maternal deaths. He also cited malaria, sepsis and respiratory infections among the causes of child deaths.
He attributed many preventable deaths to delays in seeking medical attention, poor communication during patient referrals, shortages of blood and essential medicines, and inadequate emergency preparedness at health facilities.
Dr Demby also raised concerns about the treatment of patients at healthcare facilities, warning that disrespect, neglect and demands for unofficial payments undermine public confidence in the health system and discourage people from seeking timely medical care.
He urged healthcare workers and facility managers to address these concerns and ensure that every patient receives appropriate treatment with dignity, compassion and respect.
“We must ask why people lose trust, and then make our services worthy of that trust,” he said.
On accountability, the Minister assured healthcare workers that honest reporting of challenges would not be punished. However, he warned that concealing problems or failing to take corrective action after they had been identified would not be tolerated.
With 58 days remaining in the campaign, Dr Demby called for renewed commitment from healthcare workers, hospital managers and local authorities to improve service delivery and prevent further avoidable deaths.
He stressed that the success of the campaign would be measured by the number of lives saved rather than the number of meetings held.
The Minister urged healthcare workers to treat every pregnant woman with the same care and compassion they would extend to their own family members, while ensuring that every child receives the attention and protection needed to survive and thrive.
The campaign continues to focus on improving maternal and child health outcomes through stronger accountability, better healthcare delivery and coordinated efforts to eliminate preventable deaths across Sierra Leone.