The Government of Sierra Leone, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has officially launched the Sierra Leone-UNICEF Country Programme of Cooperation 2025-2030 at the Foreign Services Academy in Freetown.

Delivering the opening remarks, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Madam Kenyeh Barlay, stressed the need for a concerted effort to address child rights issues. She reaffirmed her ministry’s unwavering commitment and the government’s readiness to support the renewed cooperation framework, ensuring every child benefits from sustainable development initiatives.

Furthermore, reflecting on the progress made over the past five years, Minister Barclay highlighted significant achievements in education, immunization, maternal and child health, and social protection, particularly in tackling gender-based violence. However, she acknowledged persistent challenges, including poverty, gender inequality, and malnutrition, which continue to hinder further advancements.

She described the 2025-2030 cooperation programme as a crucial step toward improving child welfare in Sierra Leone. It aligns with the National Medium-Term Development Plan (2024-2030) and focuses on human capital development. She called for increased community engagement, local council participation, and stronger partnerships to enhance the impact of child-center policies and initiatives.

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“The success of this initiative requires the involvement of both the government and society at large,” she stated, urging ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to align their policies and programs with the national child welfare agenda. She also appealed to development partners, civil society organizations, and the private sector to enhance advocacy, accountability, and innovation in child protection.

UNICEF’s Renewed Commitment Rudolf Schwenk, UNICEF Country Representative, thanked the Government of Sierra Leone and its partners for their collaboration in launching the new six-year Country Programme of Cooperation.

He emphasized that the initiative fully aligns with the UN Cooperation Framework, the National Medium-Term Development Plan (2024-2030), and the Global Agenda 2030.

“This event presents an opportunity to reflect on the significant progress made in child survival, well-being, development, and protection from 2020 to 2024 while also addressing the remaining challenges,” he stated.

He also acknowledged the strong leadership and commitment of the Sierra Leonean government and its development partners in advancing the child rights agenda through policy formulation, strategic planning, and global partnerships.

Strategic Priorities for the New Cooperation Programme, Ms. Liv Elin, UNICEF Deputy Representative for Programmes, presented an overview of children’s transformative achievements and outlined the renewed strategic priorities for 2025-2030.

She emphasized key areas, including health, education, access to clean water, social protection, and gender equality. She also recommended more proactive policies to strengthen child rights, particularly in clean energy, climate change resilience, poverty reduction, and quality education.

Finally, Key shareholders like  Chernor Bah, Minister of Information and Civic Education, Madam Kenyeh Barclay, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr Isata Mahoi, Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Professor Senessie, Acting Minister of Health, Conrad Sackey, Minister of Education, Ms. Alex Maclean, Head of Mission, FCDO and Mr. Wayne Mitchell, Resident Representative, International Monetary Fund (IMF) were all present at the officially launching and gave their various input to the Imitative.

In her closing remarks, Minister Kenyeh Barlay appreciated the contributions of development partners, government ministries, and civil society organizations to child welfare. She called for more excellent teamwork, local council participation, and more muscular coordination to ensure the programme’s long-term success.