Sierra Leone

This briefing paper summarises the state of current knowledge and programming on teenage pregnancy in Sierra Leone and identifies some key gaps.

Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in the world. Several recent research studies have generated evidence as to why.

This brief discusses initial learning emerging from the Adaptive approaches to reducing teenage pregnancy in Sierra Leone action research project.

The National Strategy for the Reduction of Adolescent Pregnancy and Child Marriage (2018-2022) was developed to guide the prioritisation of all evidence-based adolescent pregnancy and child marriage reduction interventions in the country during this period.

Child marriage in West and Central Africa is one of the biggest challenges in the region and has enormous adverse effects on education, health, including sexual and reproductive health, and on the overall development of adolescents and youth.

This position paper presents several strong arguments about why it is imperative to address child marriage and adolescent pregnancy, if we want to succeed in harnessing the demographic dividend in West and Central Africa.

Girls are subject to child marriage, female genital mutilation and limited education and as such, are denied equality of opportunities.

Adolescent health and development are key foundations for a country's economic development and political stability.

All children have the right to attend school and be actively engaged in their education without obstacles. Child-friendly environments are necessary for all children to thrive while at school.

Concerns about significant increases in Sierra Leone’s already high rates of teenage pregnancy during the Ebola crisis have led to redoubled efforts among policy-makers and development practitioners to address this problem.