MSF Works To Reduce Maternal Mortality In Sierra Leone

BO DISTRICT, SIERRA LEONE - MARCH 03: Healthcare workers in protective equipment transfer patient to Lassa isolation ward at Gondama Referral Centre on March 3, 2014 in Bo district, Sierra Leone. In some parts of Sierra Leone, 10-16% of hospitalized patients have Lassa fever, an acute viral hemorrhagic fever endemic to parts of West Africa. Sierra Leone a high child mortality rate and in addition to this one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, with a maternal mortality rate (MMR) of around 890 deaths per 100, 000 live births. With the introduction of an ambulance referral system and access to 24-hour emergency obstetric care amongst other initiatives, MSF have managed to drastically reduce these deaths. Doctors Without Boarders (Médecins Sans Frontières) started the Gondama Referral Centre in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Ministry of Heath and offers free heath care to pregnant women and children under the age of 15. (Photo by Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images)