Sierra Leone is officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi)[2] and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4 million. It was a colony under the auspices of the Sierra Leone Company from March 11, 1792 until it became a British colony in 1808. Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. Sierra Leone is divided into four geographical regions: the Northern Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area; which are subdivided into fourteen districts. Freetown is the capital, largest city and economic and financial center. The other major cities are Bo, Kenema, Koidu Town and Makeni.
S
ierra Leone was one of the world’s poorest countries when the civil war began in 1991. In spite of its remarkable strides and reforms since the war ended in 2002, problems of poor infrastructure — including roads and energy — low capacity, youth unemployment, high maternal and infant mortality, widespread rural impoverishment.
Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population).
Health and nutrition outcomes were among the worst in the world: infant mortality rates were recorded at 160 per 1,000 live births in 2006, maternal mortality was at 1,077 per 100,000 live births in 2005, and the under five mortality rate was 271 per 1,000 in 2005. The incidence of tuberculosis is high, with about 628 cases per 100,000 people versus 495 cases for the region.
The reported incidence of malaria is high but declining, from morbidity rate of 37.5 (2003) to 35.2 (2005). Sierra Leone has made rapid progress in measles immunization, with better than average results relative to the rest of Sub Saharan Africa.
The HIV/AIDS prevalence continues to be low at 4.9 percent (2009) nationally. Ninety-one percent of children born to HIV positive mothers are now negative (2009). The reported incidence of malaria is high but declining, from a morbidity rate of 37.5 in 2003 and 2004, to 35.2 in 2005, 35.0 in 2006, 35.1 in 2007, and 35.0 2008 and 2009.
Poverty is heavily concentrated in the rural and other urban areas outside Freetown. Revised estimates suggest that 66 percent of the population lived below the poverty line in 2004. The proportion below the poverty line in Freetown in 2003 and 2004 was estimated at 22 percent, compared to 79 percent in the rural areas.
Underemployment still continues to be a problem. In 2006, three of every 10 men aged 20 to 24, were neither formally employed nor in school. The problem is especially acute in urban areas.
HOPE YOU SEE THE NEED FOR YOUR HELP! NOW.
