Improving healthcare
CARE's work to improve healthcare in Sierra Leone includes carrying out widespread immunisation, improving nutrition, and providing malaria treatment. We work in maternal and child health, improving the healthcare available to newborn babies and pregnant mothers. Our community health clubs are training local health practitioners to raise community awareness about health issues. We drew on our expertise and strong relationships at local level to work closely with the government and other partners to help prevent the spread of Ebola in 2014 by mobilising and equipping communities to know how to prevent transmission of the virus.
Tackling sexual violence
In Sierra Leone, CARE supports a youth-led network to end female genital mutilation, and is a partner with several organisations that combat gender-based violence. A major focus of CARE’s work is on improving sexual and reproductive health for women by supporting the national health system through providing medical supplies and modern contraceptive methods, as well as providing training to health service providers in order to promote quality services.
CARE also works with communities to change harmful social norms that prevent women and girls from accessing their sexual and reproductive health rights. CARE’s sexual and reproductive health programme is present in about 30 per cent of the communities in Sierra Leone, prioritising implementation in districts with a high HIV prevalence and high rates of teenage pregnancy.
