Sierra Leone: humanitarian support

Sierra Leone in numbers

• Sierra Leone ranks 181st out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index.
• 58% of the population have limited access to food.
• 61% of women aged 15-49 who have ever been married have experienced spousal violence.
• Sierra Leone is among the 10% of countries most vulnerable to the adverse consequences of climate change.

Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement response

With a leading role in disaster and national risk management, the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society (SLRCS) has a wide presence across the country and strong volunteer network - aiming to respond and prepare for disasters facing the country and to improve the resilience of vulnerable communities.

The SLRCS and the British Red Cross partnership spans over 100 years with strong results.

We’re supporting them to build their programming capacity in resilient livelihoods, financial inclusion, climate smart disaster management and sexual and gender-based violence prevention.

SLRCS and BRC have been working together on an integrated resilience programme.

As part of the programme, local disaster management committees have been set up to anticipate and respond to risks in the community, which can include threats such as flooding or mudslides. Women are disproportionately impacted by crises, so the programme helps women to build their own resilient livelihood strategies. This is achieved by helping them to set up bank accounts and providing them with financial literacy training and business management training so that they can thrive in difficult circumstances.

Women’s safety in Sierra Leone: Agents of Change

Violence against women is a big problem in Sierra Leone. In 2019 the President of Sierra Leone, declared it a national emergency.

The integrated resilience programme also aims reduce instances of sexual and gender-based violence. As part of the programme, the Agents of Change group was set up to achieve this.

The project was initially targeted towards women. It now works to educate hundreds of men in local communities and empower them to become advocates for women’s rights.

Men involved generally come from influential backgrounds, ranging from religious leaders to former gang members. The men are educated on the harms of gender-based violence and as a result, educate their brothers, friends and sons to help make their communities safer.

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