Background and Rationale

Save the Children, working with partners and the Ministry of Health, is implementing an integrated maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health and nutrition project to strengthen the health system at both community and facility levels. Despite progress in Sierra Leone, maternal and child mortality rates remain high, driven by limited access to quality health services, weak health systems, and low demand for preventive care.

The project addresses these challenges by improving service delivery, strengthening local health systems, and promoting positive health-seeking behaviours, particularly among vulnerable populations including women, children, adolescents, and people with disabilities.

Project Goal

To reduce maternal, neonatal, and child mortality, stillbirths, and morbidity, and improve the health and wellbeing of women and children

The project will reach approximately 199,697 direct beneficiaries, including pregnant women, lactating mothers, newborns, children under five, adolescents, and caregivers across 60 primary health facilities and two hospitals in Pujehun and Port Loko districts.

Objectives

The project focuses on three key objectives. 

1. Improve equitable access to and quality of maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health and nutrition services.
2. Increase demand for and adoption of positive health behaviours through community engagement and social behaviour change.
3. Strengthen the capacity of local institutions to sustainably deliver quality health services.

Key Interventions

The project will strengthen health systems and improve service delivery through a combination of community engagement, system strengthening, and quality care interventions. Community engagement activities will promote preventive health behaviours, increase demand for services, and strengthen the role of women and youth in health decision-making.

Health system strengthening will focus on training and mentoring health workers, improving data use for decision-making, strengthening accountability mechanisms, and enhancing coordination between community and facility-level services.

The project will also improve access to quality care by supporting evidence-based interventions, strengthening facility infrastructure, ensuring availability of essential supplies, and promoting quality improvement initiatives within health facilities.

Expected Results

The project is expected to increase access to quality maternal and child health services, improve health-seeking behaviours, and strengthen health system performance. It will contribute to reductions in maternal and child mortality, improved health outcomes, and stronger, more resilient local health systems.

Approach

The project uses an integrated health systems approach that connects communities, health facilities, and government institutions. By combining service delivery improvements with behaviour change and system strengthening, it ensures sustainable and long-term impact.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The project will use data-driven monitoring systems to track service delivery, quality of care, and health outcomes. Routine data, supportive supervision, and community feedback mechanisms will be used to improve performance and ensure accountability.

Partnerships

The project is implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, MAP International, SLaDA, SHADE, and local community structures to ensure coordinated and effective delivery of services.

Sustainability

The project strengthens government and community systems to ensure long-term sustainability. By building the capacity of health workers, institutions, and community structures, it promotes continued delivery of quality health services beyond the project period.