Claim: Sierra Leone Vice President speaks on maternal mortality figures
Source: Sierra Leone News Agency
Verdict: All True
Researched Alfa Shaban
An article by the Sierra Leone News Agency captured Vice President of Sierra Leone, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, as touting the government’s maternal mortality reduction efforts, “noting a decrease from 1,165 deaths in 2013 to 717 in 2019 and further down to 443 in 2020.”
According to the article published by the state-run news agency on February 19, 2025, the Vice President shared the figures during his speech at the 47th Annual General and Scientific Meeting of the Medical and Dental Association (MDA) at the Bank Complex Hall in Freetown.
This report will fact-check the figures shared in the news report.
What is maternal mortality?
In simple terms, it is the number of women that die for every 100,000 new born babies.
The World Bank, however, defines it as the “number of women who die from pregnancy-related causes while pregnant or within 42 days of pregnancy termination per 100,000 live births.” According to the World Bank, “Maternal mortality in Sierra Leone is lower than its regional average.”
Fact-check
FactSpace Sierra Leone relied on two data sources in fact-checking these figures as shared by the Vice President, which are the Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey and World Bank data.
According to Sierra Leone’s 2013 Demographic and Health Survey (SLDHS), maternal mortality hit 1,165, which confirms the figure the Vice President quoted.
On page 8 of the report, under the subheading of Maternal Mortality, the report said: “The maternal mortality ratio for Sierra Leone is 1,165 deaths per 100,000 live births for the seven-year period before the survey. The confidence interval for the 2013 maternal mortality ratio ranges from 951 to 1,379 deaths per 100,000 live births.”
In the case of 2019, the SLDHS report’s key findings under the chapter on Adult and Maternal Mortality state: “The maternal mortality ratio for the 7-year period before the 2019 SLDHS is estimated at 717 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.”
Fig 1 – Screenshot from the 2019 SLDHS report
In 2020, the World Bank’s Gender Data Portal cited multiple UN agencies that indicated that 443 deaths were recorded. “The maternal mortality ratio in Sierra Leone has improved from 1,682 in 2000 to 443 in 2020.”
Fig 2 – Screenshot of the World Bank data
Verdict
Therefore, the figures attributed to maternal mortality cases in 2013, 2019, and 2020 are accurate.
