Of the 165 countries surveyed, Sierra Leone is ranked 30th position in the least developed countries category beating 12 others to the bottom including Mali, Yemen, Afghanistan, Chad, DR Congo, Eritrea, Sudan and South Sudan. According to the study, Niger is currently the worst place on earth to have a child with Afghanistan following closely.

Eight out of the ten worst countries in the world to have a child according to the report, are in Africa. The study compares the conditions for mothers in these 165 countries. It says it considers factors such as health, economic status and nutrition.
Norway tops the list in the best 10th places to have a child followed by Iceland with the UK and Netherlands in the 10th position. The United States could not make it in the first 10; it is ranked 25th in the annual index.

One of the major challenges after the war in Sierra Leone is the country’s health sector. For years the country performed poorly in major rankings in different studies for its poor health care services.

To address this, President Ernest Bai Koroma with its development partners introduced the free health care program for lactating mothers and children less than five years of age. User fees were removed for consultations and treatment for lactating mothers and children under 5 at all government hospitals.

The free health care program just recently clock two years and despite the challenges, it has been described as a success story.