90 hours of light for a maternity clinic in Sierra Leone

Bo is the capital of the district of the same name and of the Southern Province in Sierra Leone. According to an estimate from 2017, around 233,000 people live in the city. This makes Bo the third largest city in the country. The MM Maternity Clinic has been located here since 2003. It is now run by the second generation of midwife Agnes Kallon. The clinic is an important part of health care in Bo: Since there are only a few hospitals in the area, Agnes and her staff also treat the odd broken leg. On average, 160 births are carried out each year. Many expectant mothers from surrounding villages also visit the clinic. However, the work is made more difficult by the lack of electricity and water supplies. Births have to be carried out in the dark with flashlights. There is also no ultrasound machine available, which is why the examinations are often inaccurate. Vaccines cannot be stored in a cool place. The only water supply is from a well outside the clinic. These specific problems are also a result of the civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002. As a result, poverty, lack of access to clean water and toilets, and poor medical care affect a large part of the population (UNICEF, 2018). Although progress has been made in recent years, government resources are not sufficient to combat the problems and ensure access to medical care for all people (World Bank, 2021). In contrast, the problems of the clinic in Bo could be solved relatively quickly.