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On the margins of the 34th International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, held a high-level bilateral meeting with Dr. Diene Keita, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNFPA.
The discussions focused on strengthening collaboration to accelerate efforts aimed at reducing maternal mortality and advancing investments in midwifery—key components of maternal and newborn health in Sierra Leone and across Africa.
During the meeting, Dr. Keita commended Sierra Leone for achieving a historic 79 percent reduction in maternal mortality, from 1,682 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 354 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023.
She praised the Government’s commitment to targeted investments that have improved maternal and child health outcomes, and recognized Sierra Leone as one of UNFPA’s six global Midwifery Accelerator Champion Countries.
In his remarks, Dr. Austin Demby said Sierra Leone values the gains achieved in the health sector over the past two decades but has now shifted focus from past achievements to data-driven decision-making and life-saving action.
He highlighted the country’s ongoing healthcare reforms, driven by real-time monitoring systems such as the Maternal and Child Health Situation Room and the Pregnancy Registration and Service Tracking (PReSTrack) platform.
Dr. Demby stressed that data must not only be collected but actively used to guide decisions, improve resource allocation, and strengthen accountability across the health system.
