Maternal Center of Excellence
Every woman should have safe, dignified, and effective health care that allows her to define her future. In Sierra Leone, where maternal mortality is high, we’re building and staffing a state-of-the-art hospital for women and children, making this vision a reality.
Setting a New Standard for Health in Sierra Leone
The capacity and high quality of maternal and newborn care that will be delivered at the Maternal Center of Excellence (MCOE) are expected in wealthy countries but will be unprecedented in Sierra Leone. Built in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and scheduled to open in 2025, the MCOE will set new standards for high quality maternal and child health care that all women in Sierra Leone and beyond deserve.
121%IncreaseIn facility-based deliveries
5xincreaseIn family planning visits
<1%Mortality RateReduced by facility-based maternal health initiatives
No Woman Should Die Giving Birth
In Sierra Leone, the reality is stark: for every 100,000 live births, 443 mothers lose their lives, compared to just 11 in Canada. The disparity in healthcare resources is equally alarming.
Per 10,000 people in Sierra Leone, there are only 0.7 doctors and 2.04 nurses, while in Canada, those numbers jump to 24.64 doctors and 102.7 nurses.
A woman in Sierra Leone faces a lifetime risk of 1 in 32 of dying due to pregnancy or childbirth.
Together, we can cure this injustice
There have been vast improvements in maternal health care in Kono District since PIH Sierra Leone began working in the country in 2014. At Koidu Government Hospital (KGH), Isata Dumbuya, Director of Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health and Director of Maternal Centre of Excellence for PHI Sierra Leone and other leaders ushered in changes such as adding a blood bank and pharmacy next to the maternal ward, training nursing and midwifery staff on how to identify warning signs for at-risk pregnancies, and improving access to family planning for all women seeking care. Because of these and other efforts, there was a 36% increase in women choosing to give birth there from 2020 to 2022. In the recently established special care baby unit, premature or high-risk newborns now have a 96% survival rate.
The incredible support of John and Hank Green and their online community have helped make the MCOE possible. See below for a look at MCOE progress through an on-site video from John Green in spring 2023.
The Maternal Center of Excellence
A bold solution to radically reduce maternal mortality in Sierra Leone
The new center, which broke ground in April 2021, will provide advanced maternal and child health services in Kono District and beyond. It will serve as a hub for global innovation in maternal health to be replicated in Sierra Leone and around the world.
