AN OVERVIEW OF A WEST AFRICAN COUNTRY: SIERRA LEONE

PriscillaOwusu-Ansah

（作者：电子科技大学西非研究中心团队，执笔人：PriscillaOwusu-Ansah（电子科技大学西非研究中心助理）【西非漫谈】2022年第五期，总第五十四期。译者：宋和；整理：陈思雨、孟雅琪；供稿：赵蜀蓉)

--本文原刊载于环球网（Huanqiu.com）“西非漫谈”栏目

链接：https://opinion.huanqiu.com/article/47F2tAaCcvC

1.INTRODUCTION

In this month's newsletter, we will look at several key aspects of Sierra Leone, a West African country. Sierra Leone, sometimes known as the Republic of Sierra Leone and colloquially Salone , is a West African republic on the southwest coast. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia, while the northern part of the country is surrounded by Guinea. Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, a diversified ecosystem ranging from savanna to rainforests, a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi), and a population of 7,092,113 according to the 2015 census. Freetown is the country's capital and biggest metropolis. The nation is organized into five administrative areas, which are further subdivided into sixteen districts. Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a unicameral parliament and a directly elected president who serves a five-year term with a maximum of two terms. Julius Maada Bio is the country's current president. Sierra Leone is a secular country, with the constitution requiring the separation of state and church as well as religious freedom (which includes freedom of thoughts and religion). Muslims account for almost three-quarters of the population, however there is a Christian minority. Religious tolerance is highly strong in the West African country, and it is widely accepted as a standard and part of Sierra Leone is cultural character. Although the country and its borders have been inhabited for millennia, Sierra Leone, as the country and its borders are known today, was founded by the British Crown in two phases: first, the coastal Sierra Leone Colony in 1808 (for returning Africans after the abolition of slavery); second, the inland Protectorate in 1896. (As the Crown needed to establish more dominion inland following the outcome of the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885). As a result, the nation was technically known as the "Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate," or simply British Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone obtained independence from the United Kingdom on April 27, 1961, and became a Commonwealth kingdom on the same day; the country's name was changed to the Dominion of Sierra Leone. Sir Milton Margai became Sierra Leone's first prime minister.

https://www.dreamstime.com/Sierra Leone

2.Some Developmental Features in the Country

（1）Economy

Sierra Leone's economy is that of a least developing nation, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of around US$1.9 billion in 2009. Sierra Leone's economy has been steadily recovering since the conclusion of the civil war in 2002, with GDP growth rates ranging between 4 and 7 percent. In 2008, it’s GDP in PPP terms rated between 147th (World Bank) and 153rd (CIA). Sierra Leone's economic progress has always been limited by its reliance on resource extraction. Throughout history, successive governments and the public have assumed that "diamonds and gold" are adequate producers of foreign currency revenues and a draw for investment. Consequently, governments have disregarded large-scale commodity agriculture, industrial growth, and long-term investments. As a result, the economy may be characterized as "exploitative" - a rentier state predicated on the exploitation of unsustainable resources or non-reusable assets. Two-thirds of Sierra Leone's population is directly engaged in subsistence agriculture. In 2007, agriculture contributed for 58 percent of national GDP. The COVID–19 epidemic has harmed Sierra Leone's economy. After rising by 5.4 percent in 2019, real GDP is expected to decline by 2.7 percent in 2020. The drop was caused by poor external demand for key exports, notably diamonds, as well as decreases in the mining, transportation, commerce, and tourist industries. Because of supply chain interruptions and transportation impediments, inflation is expected to rise to 17% in 2020, up from 14.8 percent in 2019. The budget deficit was predicted to rise to 5.7 percent of GDP in 2020, up from 2.9 percent in 2019, due to a revenue shortfall caused by reduced economic activity. The NDP's continuous policy and structural changes must be executed, the economic stimulus program must be maintained, and external financial assistance in the form of grants, concessional loans, debt payment suspension, and restructuring must be achieved. Growth is expected to climb to 3.1 percent in 2021 and 4.3 percent in 2022 under this scenario. Inflation is expected to fall to 13.6 percent in 2021 and 11.3 percent in 2022; the budget deficit is expected to fall to 4.1 percent of GDP in 2021 and 3.6 percent in 2022; and the current account deficit will fall to 14.4 percent of GDP in 2021 and 13.5 percent in 2022.

（2）Education

Sierra Leone was a forerunner of western-style education in Sub-Saharan Africa throughout the nineteenth century. Fourah Bay College, which is connected with Durham University in the United Kingdom, was established in 1827 as the region's first higher educational establishment. Sierra Leone Grammar School, the first boys' school, and Annie Walsh Memorial School, the first girls' school, were established in 1845 and 1849, respectively. In the early part of the nineteenth century, the nation was an important center for teaching teachers, physicians, and administrators for all of West Africa. The school system that emerged in Sierra Leone throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was modeled after the British education system. It was elitist in character, targeted at the urban middle class, and concentrated on the academically brilliant who would go on to university education before taking up posts as public employees in the government. During this time, the bulk of the people had no formal education or had just a few years of basic school. When Sierra Leone gained independence in 1961, just 15% of children aged 5 to 11 and 5% of children aged 12 to 16 were enrolled in school.

Sierra Leone's educational system is divided into three levels: elementary, junior secondary, and senior secondary. The first six years of elementary school are free of charge. Students enter junior secondary school around the age of 12 and continue until the age of 15. Girls in rural communities often have the most difficulty achieving this level of education owing to cultural attitudes that frequently discourage their involvement. Students enroll in senior secondary schools between the ages of 15 and 18, and it is at this point that they must decide whether to continue their academic education with the goal of attending university or to concentrate on vocational training. Most vocational education programs emphasize agricultural skills, followed by mechanics, carpentry, and bricklaying. Students interested in pursuing a university degree in Sierra Leone have two options: Njala University or the University of Sierra Leone.

（3）Healthcare

Sierra Leone implemented "Free Health Care Medical Insurance" in April 2010, a system of free healthcare for pregnant and breast-feeding women, as well as children under the age of five. According to a UN Population Fund official, medical equipment had been ordered and certain pharmaceuticals had been provided as part of the new healthcare program, but coverage was not yet complete. The scheme's original setup cost $19 million, and it is estimated to save the lives of over a million women and children. Healthcare workers went on strike in March 2010 against the proposals, claiming that free healthcare would increase their workload and working hours; the government resolved the conflict with pay raises ranging from 200 to 500 percent. Many of the women involved, according to observers, are unaware that they have a right to free medical treatment, and the legislation would remain a paper tiger if more money from the extractive industry were not invested in the country's healthcare system. The initiative is mostly sponsored by the United Kingdom and the United Nations, who have paid to renovate hospitals, provide medications, and pay healthcare personnel' salaries. The United Kingdom has committed to provide a year's supply of medications for the scheme, and the World Health Organization has set up blood banks in each large city. The British government's financing came from the Department for International Development (DFID), and it amounted to $22.6 million over the following three years from a total allocation of $70.5 million for the 10-year "Reproduction and Child Health Care" programme. DFID also provided UNICEF with $7 million to offer medications to pregnant mothers.

Sierra Leone's basic health care system includes traditional medicine. The Ministry of Health and Sanitation's traditional medicine program has built a training school in Makeni, a healing center in Kono, and held seminars to encourage collaboration between traditional medicine practitioners and orthodox medical staff. Members of the program have also identified and gathered medicinal plants from all around Sierra Leone. Traditional medicine is widely used in Sierra Leone, particularly in the treatment of malaria and among hypertensive patients, pregnant women, infertile women, breastfeeding moms, Ebola survivors, and healthcare students.

Sierra Leone Declares Curfew Amid Third Covid-19 Wave. Source; Africatodaynewsonline.com/2021.

（4）Government

Sierra Leone became a republic within the Commonwealth with the adoption of its constitution in 1971. The 1978 constitution established a one-party republic centered on the All People's Congress; the head of state, or executive president, was chosen by All People's Congress delegates, and there was a parliament. Political tensions and violence intensified, resulting in the adoption of a new constitution in 1991 that created a multiparty system. In April 1992, however, a violent military coup established a National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) and a new head of state. Following that, the NPRC appointed a government and ordered the dissolution of the House of Representatives, as well as the suspension of the new constitution and all political activities. In July, the NPRC was reformed as the Supreme Council of State, and a council of secretaries, instituting strict military control, replaced the cabinet. Following democratic elections in 1996, the 1991 constitution was revised and reinstated, and the nation reverted to a multiparty democracy with an executive president and a legislature. After a coup in 1997, the constitution was suspended again, but it was reinstalled the following year.

Currently, the president, Julius Maada Bio, and his party are now in power and will stay so until the March 2023 elections. In the short term, policy will be focused on the coronavirus vaccine deployment and dealing with the aftermath from the pandemic. The administration will also prioritize fiscal deficit reduction, social program maintenance, and infrastructure development. Real GDP growth would rise in 2022 due to increased demand for the country's mineral exports and agricultural expansion, before slowing in 2023.

SOURCES

James, Peter; Wardle, Jon; Steel, Amie; Adams, Jon (2019). "Utilisation of and Attitude towards Traditional and Complementary Medicine among Ebola Survivors in Sierra Leone". Medicina. 55 (7). doi:10.3390/medicina55070387. PMID 31323758.

https://freedomhouse.org/country/sierra-leone/freedom-world/2021

World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 29 September 2019.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Sierra-Leone/additional-info#contributors