Topic: 2025 – Maternal Mortality
Country: Sierra Leone
Delegate Name: Cosmo Steffke
Rising maternal death rates are increasingly becoming more of a problem worldwide. The delegation of Sierra Leone notes that the consequences of these rising death rates fall mostly on low-income nations, with about 92 of every 100 maternal deaths occurring in these settings, and 70 out of those 100 being located in Sub-Saharan Africa (WHO “Maternal Mortality”). Sierra Leone suffers one of the highest rates globally, alongside having one of the lowest rates of skilled birth attendance, with only 87% of births involving a trained provider. While the national health system is still improving slowly, the delegation of Sierra Leone understands that a joint solution is imperative.
Several factors impact the country’s ability to offer safe and up-to-standard care to newborns. The doctor-to-population ratio remains extremely low at 1 doctor per 10,000 people (WHO, Sierra Leone Country Profile), and only about 31% of the medical facilities offer full Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (UNFPA). Even if Sierra Leonean citizens manage to find a hospital that offers the services they need, many must travel long distances on out-of-shape roads, furthering the risk of complications or mortality.
As global interest in maternal health grows, Sierra Leone stresses that unless funding, infrastructure, and medical training increase, maternal deaths will remain high. Even though the Human Rights Council adopted Resolution 54/16 declaring preventable maternal deaths a violation of human rights (“UN HRC Res. 54/16”), and even though WHO runs the Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality initiative, progress is still slow. The delegation of Sierra Leone would like to emphasize the need for a multifaceted solution tasked with working with these low-income countries, and is eager to start working.
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