Geneva — The Geneva Council for Rights and Liberties expresses grave concern over reports revealing systemic obstetric violence in public healthcare facilities across Sierra Leone, which has resulted in severe neglect, abuse, and preventable deaths of women and their newborns. Despite government policies promoting free maternal healthcare, the practice of informal payments has caused dangerous delays, abandonment, and degrading treatment of the most vulnerable patients in labor.
The critical situation undermines Sierra Leone’s progress in reducing maternal mortality and represents a profound violation of women’s rights, including their right to dignity, health, and life. Women unable to afford informal fees reportedly face verbal humiliation, denial of essential care, and are subjected to harmful treatment practices such as being restrained, abandoned during labor, and deprived of pain relief and respectful assistance.
Persistent underfunding, inadequate staffing, and reliance on unpaid volunteers exacerbate the challenges faced by public health facilities, reducing the quality of maternal care and contributing to ongoing corruption. These systemic failures highlight the urgent need for effective government intervention to ensure safe, respectful, and equitable maternity services.
The Geneva Council for Rights and Liberties calls upon the government of Sierra Leone to:
- Officially recognize obstetric violence as a serious human rights violation.
- Substantially increase investment in maternal healthcare, including hiring and fairly compensating sufficient healthcare staff.
- Ensure the consistent availability of necessary medical supplies and pharmaceuticals in maternity wards.
- Establish accessible mechanisms for complaints, accountability, and compensation for victims of health care abuses.
- Launch public awareness campaigns on women’s rights and respectful maternity care.
Furthermore, international partners and financial institutions should support Sierra Leone by ensuring that debt service obligations do not undermine national efforts to improve public health and uphold human rights.
This crisis is not only a public health emergency but a critical human rights issue demanding immediate, transparent action to protect the lives and dignity of women and newborns across Sierra Leone.
