Sierra Leone – beautiful country and much suffering

Sierra Leone, a small West African country is situated decoratively at the Atlantic Ocean and borders on Liberia and Guinea. It is rich in Diamonds, Gold and other raw materials and it´s landscapes are breathtaking.

Sierra Leones people are friendly and courteus and helpful to foreigners. They suffered a lot from a brutal rebel war, which was officially concluded by President Kabbah in January 2002.

Every part of the country is peaceful now, but the war has left its deep marks. Unemployment is high especially amongst young people. The educational system is built up slowly and especially in the villages there is no health care system.

Sierra Leone has been continuously relegated to the category of least developed countries for the past decade. The Ministry of Health announced recently the existence of 80 doctors for a population of 5 million inhabitants. These numbers are not only dramatically, but are highly behind international recommendations.

The consequence of a disastrous health care system is a high infant and maternal mortality rate. Children and women often die of preventable und curable diseases like diarrhea, common cold and many more.