Sierra Leone // Current

1 in 8 women die in childbirth in Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone, one in eight women risk dying during pregnancy or childbirth. This is... more

AmnestyInternational
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1 month ago
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Sierra Leone's Forgotten Generation - Part 2

Millions of young people in West Africa live a life of poverty, unemployment and... more

faolanjones
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1 month ago
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Sierra Leone's Forgotten Generation - Part 1

Millions of young people in West Africa live a life of poverty, unemployment and... more

faolanjones
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2 months ago
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We Don't Want No War

Featuring: Mohamed Sidibay Youth Filmmakers: Edwin Daniel, Schwarbu Emile, Kamara,... more

austin
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4 months ago
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African woman defies death threats fighting circumcision

Her work has brought her death threats. Rugiatu Turay, 32, helps girls avoid the cruel... more

ToBeNowhere
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4 months ago
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Scholarships for virgins?

Girls living in a small province of Sierra Leone called northern Biriwa are being... more

atomiclegion
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5 months ago
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11 comments

Hundreds of snakes invade police station

An estimated 400 snakes have descended upon a police station in Sierra Leone - leaving... more

FreshPlastic
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5 months ago
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Clashes in Sierra Leone capital

Police in Sierra Leone have used tear gas to disperse supporters of the two main... more

pibbio
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8 months ago
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FGM in Sierra Leone

Peace groups in Sierra Leone offer women an alternative to the big business of female... more

hollett
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1 year ago
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Latino drug lords find African allies

An upcoming UN report will shed light on criminal gangs in West Africa that work with South American drug cartels in a murky alliance that threatens stability in the region.

“Besides foreigners there is a growing phenomenon of local criminal groups,” said Antonio Mazzitelli of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). “This certainly creates obstacles to democracy, to good governance, to development.”

The UN estimates that US$2 billion (Dh7.3bn) worth of cocaine enters West Africa each year before being smuggled into Europe. Previous research focused on the role of South American cocaine cartels, which began operating heavily in the region about four years ago.

“We often talk about the Latinos, but what about the Africans involved? There are over 1,600 West Africans all over the world convicted for drug trafficking,” Mr Mazzitelli said in a telephone interview from his office in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.

The new report will look at local criminal networks, which facilitate the passage of drugs through airports and organised human couriers to smuggle cocaine into Europe via commercial flights. These gangs take in about $450 million each year, according to Mr Mazzitelli. Antonio Costa, who heads the UNODC, will unveil the report at a three-day anti-drug trafficking conference that starts today in the island nation of Cape Verde, which has emerged as one of the main transit points for drug smugglers. The conference is being held by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).

The title of the conference, Drug Trafficking as a Security Threat to West Africa, shows that West African countries now recognize drug trafficking as a serious danger to their stability, Mr Mazzitelli said. Previously, Ecowas members considered the cocaine trade a problem primarily for governments in South America, the source of supply, and Europe, where the demand lies.

“This overall attitude has characterized the issue,” he said. But the thinking changed as West African countries watched cartels infiltrate their security forces and other state institutions.

“It can cause destabilisation for the government,” said Francis Munu, the head of crime and intelligence in the Sierra Leone police.An upcoming UN report will shed light on criminal gangs in West Africa that work with... more

TravG73
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1 year ago
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In Sierra Leone, every pregnancy is a 'chance of dying'

Saio Marah, nine months pregnant and two days into labor, lay on a hospital bed and groaned loudly with each contraction.

She had arrived at the rural hospital earlier on the back of a motorcycle, about the only public transport available in this muddy little town in the distant back-country bush of one of Africa's poorest nations.

Now, in a dark and hot labor ward with rain blowing in the open windows and puddling on the floor, Marah grimaced as James Konteh slapped on rubber gloves and examined her.

Konteh, an ophthalmologist by training, is one of only two doctors who serve 300,000 people in this remote district, so he has become a de-facto obstetrician.

He placed a plastic Pinard stethoscope -- a cheaper, funnel-shaped alternative to a standard stethoscope--to Marah's massive belly and listened.

"The fetal heart rate is very rapid," he said. "The labor is obstructed. The baby is in distress so we must operate right away."

Konteh pulled out his cellphone and began dialing his four surgical nurses. It was 6:30 p.m., and they had all gone home when their 10-hour shifts ended a half-hour earlier.

Marah had waited too long to come to the hospital, and now the baby, her first, was in trouble. The surgery was urgent, but it would take time to get the operating room team back.

"What can I do?" Konteh said. "There's nobody here."

The nurses hooked up an IV to increase Marah's fluids, hoisted her onto a gurney and rolled her into an empty waiting room. She lay there naked, covered loosely by a small cloth, and waited for her caesarian section.

"I haven't been able to sleep for three days," she said. "The pain is too much."

It was a Monday evening, and her husband, Mohamed Barrie, said she had gone into labor on Saturday. Both of them were worried about the expense of going to the hospital, he said, and were sure she could deliver easily enough without assistance from hospital doctors. So they had gone to a neighborhood clinic where a nurse examined her and sent her home.

************CONTINUESSaio Marah, nine months pregnant and two days into labor, lay on a hospital bed and... more