Sierra Leone’s Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby (PhD, MPH), has announced that over 620,000 women in Sierra Leone are now using modern contraceptives, a significant rise from 280,000 in 2012.
Speaking at a high-level strategy session on “Powering Progress for Family Planning and Reproductive Health” hosted by the United Nations Foundation in Washington, D.C., Dr. Demby highlighted this progress as a milestone achievement in the country’s reproductive health agenda.
The Minister emphasized the government’s commitment to advancing reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health through the life stages approach—an innovative healthcare strategy designed to tailor services across all phases of human life.
According to Dr. Demby, increased access to contraceptives has already helped to:
• Prevent 230,000 unintended pregnancies
• Avert 85,000 unsafe abortions
• Save 740 maternal lives
He noted that Sierra Leone’s modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) now stands at 27.4%, while demand satisfaction has climbed to 59.1%, underscoring President Julius Maada Bio’s strong commitment to accelerated progress under FP2030.
“These are clear markers of the impact of government leadership and our collective drive to eliminate preventable maternal deaths,” Dr. Demby said, urging global partners to align support with Sierra Leone’s priorities and close financing gaps to reinforce sustainable health systems.
The strategy session brought together leaders from FP2030, the Global Financing Facility, Engender Health, the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition, and other global health organizations to explore opportunities for collaboration, sustainable financing, and greater impact as countries advance toward the 2030 development goals.
