Sierra Leone’s Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, has praised healthcare workers across the country for dramatically reducing maternal and child deaths figures in just 160 days of the 300 Days of Activism campaign. The Minister described the work as remarkable, but calls for greater accountability and decisive action to prevent avoidable deaths of women and children.
“You have shown the world what is possible when everyone works towards a common purpose. We must now move beyond explanations and focus on aggressively implementing solutions that help us not just bend the curve, but achieve our national triple zero targets.”
Dr. Demby made this statement on Friday when he joined the Ministry of Health’s weekly Maternal and Child Death Emergency Meeting (MaCDEM), for the first time, at the Ministry’s Conference Hall in Freetown. The MaCDEM brings together doctors, District Health Management Teams (DHMTs), hospital administrators and other health professionals to review maternal and child deaths reported across the country. The platform examines the circumstances surrounding each death, identifies contributing factors and determines what could be done differently to prevent similar cases in the future.
Speaking during the meeting, Dr. Demby stressed that every maternal or child death should serve as an opportunity to identify weaknesses within the health system and take corrective action.
“This is not a time for excuses and explanations, but a time for accountability and implementation of solutions that work,” Dr. Demby pointed out.
He emphasized that preventable deaths require collective responsibility, urging healthcare workers and authorities to strengthen clinical care, emergency response, referral systems and data-driven decision-making.
The Minister’s intervention comes as Sierra Leone continues to implement the 300 Days of Activism for Triple Zero, a national campaign focused on achieving Zero Preventable Maternal Deaths, Zero Preventable Child Deaths and Zero-Dose Children. At Week 32 of the campaign, the Ministry has reported significant progress in several key areas. Of an estimated 9,006 zero-dose children, up to 8,037 have been vaccinated, representing 89.2 percent of the national target. The country has also recorded a 30 percent decline in maternal deaths and a 14.4 percent reduction in child deaths.
The Ministry attributes the progress to intensified interventions, targeted investments, strengthened monitoring and increased accountability across the health sector. Despite these gains, Dr. Demby stressed that the remaining challenges require renewed commitment and urgent action, particularly in situations where deaths may have been prevented through timely and appropriate interventions. Information generated through the weekly MaCDEM reviews is intended to guide corrective measures at health facilities and district level while strengthening the wider health system. The Ministry of Health has reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining the momentum of the 300 Days of Activism and accelerating interventions towards the Triple Zero targets.