Health
Health care is provided by the government and others. Since April 2010, the government has instituted the Free Health Care Initiative which commits to free services for pregnant and lactating women and children under 5. This policy has been supported by increased aid from the United Kingdom and is recognised as a progressive move that other African countries may follow. Life expectancy at birth is estimated to be 56.55 years in 2012. Estimates for infant mortality in Sierra Leone are among the highest in the world; for every 1,000 live births, approximately 77 children do not survive to their first birthday. The maternal death rates are also the highest in the world, at 2,000 deaths per 100,000 live births. The country suffers from epidemic outbreaks of diseases including yellow fever, cholera, lassa fever and meningitis. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the population is 1.6%, higher than the world average of 1% but lower than the average of 6.1% in Sub-Saharan Africa.
During the Civil War (1991–2002) many soldiers took part in atrocities and many children were forced to fight. This left them traumatized with an estimated 400.000 people (by 2009) being mentally ill. Also thousands of former child soldiers have fallen into substance abuse as they try to blunt their memories. Neurological health care is still not a service offered in the country five years after the Civil War ended in 2002. Mental healthcare in the country is almost non existing with many patients trying to cure themselves with the help of traditional healers.
Read more about this topic: Sierra Leone
Famous quotes containing the word health:
“I would hope that parents and grown children could be friends. When a friend confides in you that she’s going to do something that you think is most inappropriate, foolhardy or even dangerous, wouldn’t you as a friend say so—in a calm, supportive way? Yet I have to be so careful what I say to my children. I have to walk on eggs to be sure I’m not hurting their feelings or interfering with their lives.”
—Anonymous Parent of Adult Children. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 5 (1978)
“The health of the soul is something we can be no more sure of than that of the body; and though a man may seem far from the passions, yet he is in as much danger of falling into them as one in a perfect state of health of having a fit of sickness.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
“No one ever promised me it would be easy and it’s not. But I also get many rewards from seeing my children grow, make strong decisions for themselves, and set out on their own as independent, strong, likeable human beings. And I like who I am becoming, too. Having teenagers has made me more human, more flexible, more humble, more questioning—and, finally it’s given me a better sense of humor!”
—Anonymous Father. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 4 (1978)