Country Overview

Sierra Leone has a population of about 7million in 2021. Sierra Leone shares borders with Liberia on the south-east and Guinea in the north-east and north-west. Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have experienced similar civil unrest, Ebola scourge and are currently battling a global pandemic – COVID-19. According to the United Nations, Sierra Leone has consistently ranked at the bottom of the Human Development Index is 181/189 countries and territories.  Its position is indicated by:

  • a life expectancy in Sierra Leone in 2021 is 54.81 years a 0.68% increase from 2019 which was 54.44 years
  • Gross domestic product (GDP) capita in 2021 – USD$488.50 (which is by far less than the global average which is USD18,381)
  • According to UN/WFP (HDI) – 2021 – 53% of our population live below the income poverty line of USD1.25/day
  • high infant and maternal mortality rates
  • poor access to safe drinking water and sanitation
  • Poor access to adequate medical facilities
  • Weak and inadequate staffing of the justice system – thereby affecting access to justice in the country
  • illiteracy rate in Sierra Leone is very high as high as 69.3% among men and 80.0% of the female population (in essence male literacy is as low as 30.7% and female literacy rate as low as 20%
  • high potential for the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS and STIs
  • Maternal mortality rate 1,360 per 100.000 live births
  • Neonatal – 34/1000, Infant Mortality rate – 82/1000 live births and children under five – 111/1000 live births

 Sierra Leone as a country has never been ethnically divided as it is in this 2020 in its entire history. The various crisis primarily involving young people that have happened during the period under review have all been described as politically motivated and due to the severe impact of COVID-19 on the socio-economic status of youths which makes them come in handy and ready to be used by ill willed politicians for their personal aggrandisement. Sierra Leone has a wide range of both natural and human resources, which is capable of sustaining rapid socio-economic growth and the development of the country. Mismanagement systematically undermined the quality of service delivery and eroded effective governance both at the national and regional levels.  The resultant disparity between the country’s resources and potential on the one hand and the deprivation of the vast majority of the people as described above on the other hand is attributed to bad governance. Rampant corruption, gross violation of civil and human rights, and the marginalisation of youths over the past 10 years continues in spite of lessons hard lessons that were learnt from the experience of the civil war.

 

Bo District Situation Poverty Assessment

Bo district is in the Southern Province, and borders with Kenema district to the east, Tonkolili district to the north, Moyamba district to the west, Bonthe district to the southwest and Pujehun district to the south. It is the second most populous district in Sierra Leone (after the Western Area Urban district). Bo town is the second largest city in the country and the district capital. Other major towns in the district are Baoma, Bumpeh, Serabu, Sumbuya, Baiima and Yele. The fifteen chiefdoms of the district are Badjia, Bagbwe, Baoma, Bumpe Ngao, Jaiama, Kakua, Komboya, Lugbu, Niawa, Bo, Selenga, Tikonko, Valunia, Wonde and Gbo. The district population is ethnically and culturally diverse, particularly in the city of Bo, however, over 60% of the population belongs to the Mende ethnic group. During the May-October rainy season, the district receives an average of 292 cm rainfall annually

Population distribution: The district population projection 2021 indicates that 6% are children under the age of 5 years, 54% are among the active workforce (15-64 years) while 25% falls between the age of 5 and 14 years. Among the active workforce, 43% of people reside in Bo town. 45% of the district population live in urban areas (55% are rural population). According to the projected population data, the average family size is 5,7.

Livelihood and Economy: The major economic activities of the district population are gold and diamond mining, other activities include trading, agricultural production of rice and root crops, cash crops such coffee, cacao and oil palm plantation. Trading is also a livelihood means for many residents as the district serves the important trade route and business hub for the south west of the country. Traditional farming is a common livelihood and family income source for the majority of the population in the country, however, less than half (49%) of Bo residents are engaged in farming activities. The Wealth Index (WI) shows only 9% of residents fall under the poorest quintile and 22% are in the medium poor category. Outside the capital Freetown, poverty was relatively consistent across the country, however Bo district with a 50.7% poverty level remained one of the lowest levels in the country. Despite a low level of poverty, the income inequality (Gini coefficient) stands at 0.33 (on a scale 0 to 1) which is moderately high compared to the national range between the highest level 0.42 in Bombali and the lowest level 0.21 in Tonkolili.

Health: The district has 117 health facilities including one Government and two Mission hospitals, 27 Community Health Centers (CHC), 21 Community Health Posts, 62 Maternal and Child Health Posts (MCHP) and 4 private clinics. According to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS)data 2021, on average a health facility serves 5,462 persons and has one bed for 2,061 people. The vaccination coverage is 82% among the children aged between 12-23 months old, 1.5% children of the same age group have never been vaccinated. The overall HIV prevalence rate is 1.4%, while the prevalence rate among women (1.8%) is higher compared to men (1%).

Water and Sanitation: The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MoEWR) comprehensive mapping of water points report 2021 indicated that the major drinking water sources for the district residents are wells, hand pumps, public water supplies (piped) and other sources (streams and untreated sources). There are some 3, 656 functional water points of different sources, majority (2,412) of which are wells without a pump. During the time of the mapping exercise in 2021, 22% (797) water points were found not functioning, 275 of these sources need repairing. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) census for the 2020-21 school year indicated that 344 (47%) schools has safe drinking water sources (piped supplies and boreholes) inside the school compound while other schools are using wells, streams and other untreated sources. 69% (499) of schools have access to toilet facilities within the school premises.