Vice President, Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh has told The Africa Report that Sierra Leone has “broken records in reducing maternal mortality,” slashing the rate from 1,078 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018 to just 334 by 2023,a drop that has saved over 700 mothers and represents the steepest decline in sub-Saharan Africa.

VP Jalloh, whose office also provides supervision for the effective running of the Ministry of Health, credited this success to a dramatic budget increase that funded the recruitment of more than 8,000 healthcare workers, extensive midwife training programmes, and the rollout of a national ambulance system ensuring rapid transport of expectant mothers from every chiefdom and village to medical facilities.

In the same interview, he highlighted parallel gains in child health, noting that infant mortality has likewise fallen sharply thanks to improved pre and postnatal care and community health outreach initiatives. These coordinated efforts have not only reduced deaths but also bolstered trust between rural communities and the formal health sector.

Beyond healthcare, Jalloh emphasised Sierra Leone’s landmark education reforms under President Julius Maada Bio, including a flagship policy dedicating 22% of GDP to free quality schooling.

Enrollment has surged to nearly one million children, and gender parity has been achieved in junior secondary classrooms, with girls now outnumbering boys and outperforming them in public exams.

The Vice President’s expanded portfolio, once largely ceremonial in Sierra Leone, now encompasses internal affairs, decentralisation, and oversight of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. His stewardship of the Police Council during the 2022 insurgency and his leadership in securing a $480 million Millennium Challenge Compact for energy-sector reform underline his hands-on approach to governance.

Reflecting on these achievements, Jalloh noted that Sierra Leone’s vice presidential office has been “substantially strengthened” to drive reform across health, education, and economic sectors, a model he believes other African states could emulate to translate political will into measurable human capital gains.