Sierra Leone’s Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, has called for stronger accountability and faster implementation of health interventions as the country works toward its national Triple Zero targets.

Demby made the appeal on Friday when he attended the Ministry of Health’s weekly Maternal and Child Death Emergency Meeting for the first time. The meeting was held at the Ministry’s Conference Hall in Freetown.

The forum brings together doctors, District Health Management Teams, hospital administrators and other health professionals to review maternal and child deaths reported across the country. Participants examine the circumstances surrounding each death, consider contributing factors and identify measures that could help prevent similar cases.

Progress reported during campaign

The Ministry said the meeting’s reviews are intended to guide corrective action at health facilities and district level, while also strengthening the wider health system.

The discussions come as Sierra Leone continues its 300 Days of Activism for Triple Zero campaign. The initiative is focused on achieving Zero Preventable Maternal Deaths, Zero Preventable Child Deaths and Zero-Dose Children.

According to figures reported by the Ministry at Week 32 of the campaign, up to 8,037 of an estimated 9,006 zero-dose children had been vaccinated. The Ministry described that figure as representing 89.2 percent of the national target.

The Ministry also reported a 30 percent decline in maternal deaths and a 14.4 percent reduction in child deaths. It attributed the progress to intensified interventions, targeted investments, stronger monitoring and increased accountability across the health sector. The Ministry did not specify the comparison period or baseline for those reductions.

Demby praised healthcare workers for what he described as a dramatic reduction in maternal and child death figures during the first 160 days of the campaign.

“You have shown the world what is possible when everyone works towards a common purpose. We must now move beyond explanations and focus on aggressively implementing solutions that help us not just bend the curve, but achieve our national triple zero targets,” he said.

Call for implementation and accountability

The minister urged healthcare workers and health authorities to maintain the momentum by strengthening services and preventing avoidable deaths. His call included stronger clinical care, emergency response, referral systems and data-driven decision-making.

“This is not a time for excuses and explanations, but a time for accountability and implementation of solutions that work,” Demby said during the meeting.

The Ministry said it would accelerate interventions aimed at the Triple Zero targets and reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining the campaign. The weekly emergency reviews are expected to continue providing information for action at both facility and district levels.