Citizens Appeal For Stronger Investment In Rural Health Facilities

By Abdul Rahman Bah

For many Sierra Leoneans, accessing healthcare is not simply a visit to a hospital; it is often a difficult journey filled with distance, financial hardship, uncertainty, and sacrifice. From remote villages to crowded urban communities, thousands of people continue to face barriers to timely and affordable medical care.

In rural areas, some patients travel for hours by foot, motorbike, or public transport just to reach the nearest health facility. For pregnant women, children, elderly people, and those suffering from serious illnesses, such journeys can become dangerous when urgent medical attention is required.

Mariama, a mother of three from a rural community, remembers the fear she experienced when her youngest child became seriously ill.

“I was worried because the health centre was far away, and I did not know if my child would survive before we arrived,” she said.

Her experience reflects the reality of many families across Sierra Leone who depend on limited healthcare services within their communities.

Over the years, Sierra Leone has made important progress in strengthening its health sector, particularly following the Ebola outbreak of 2014–2016, which exposed major weaknesses in healthcare delivery. Government and development partners have since invested in disease prevention, maternal and child health programmes, community healthcare, and the training of health workers.

Yet serious challenges remain. Many communities continue to experience shortages of medicines and medical supplies, inadequate facilities, limited numbers of healthcare workers, and high transportation costs when patients need to reach major hospitals.

Healthcare workers themselves operate under enormous pressure. Nurses, midwives, community health officers and community health workers often serve large populations with limited resources.

A community health worker in the Western Area explained that reaching vulnerable families requires commitment and sacrifice.

“Sometimes we walk long distances to educate people about healthcare, vaccination, and disease prevention. We do our best because people depend on us,” she said.

Maternal healthcare remains a major concern. Although access to skilled birth services has improved over the years, preventable deaths during pregnancy and childbirth continue to affect families, particularly where women live far from facilities capable of providing emergency obstetric care.

Child health is another concern. Malaria, malnutrition and other preventable illnesses continue to threaten the lives and wellbeing of children, placing additional pressure on families and already stretched health services.

At the same time, Sierra Leone’s health challenges are changing. Alongside infectious diseases, the country is increasingly dealing with conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer and mental health problems. This means the health system must respond not only to longstanding challenges, but also to a growing burden of non-communicable diseases.

For ordinary citizens, healthcare is about much more than hospitals and medicines. It is about dignity, hope, security and the opportunity to live a healthy life without being pushed into deeper poverty by the cost of seeking treatment.

As Sierra Leone continues efforts to improve healthcare delivery, citizens are calling for stronger investment in rural health facilities, better support and working conditions for healthcare workers, reliable supplies of essential medicines, and policies that reduce the financial and geographical barriers preventing people from receiving care.

The story of Sierra Leone’s health sector is therefore not only a story of statistics, policies and government programmes. It is the story of mothers waiting for safe deliveries, children needing urgent treatment, families struggling to pay transportation costs, and health workers walking long distances to reach the people who depend on them.

For millions of Sierra Leoneans, the dream remains simple: a healthcare system where quality medical care is not determined by where a person lives or how much money they have, but is within reach of everyone.