Sierra Leone is progressing along its development path guided by national strategies like the National Medium Term Development Plan and the Feed Salone Strategy. However, the country remains fragile and highly vulnerable to shocks that severely affect its economy, food systems, and public health. According to the 2024 Global Hunger Index, Sierra Leone ranks 117 out of 127 countries, with a score of 31.2, indicating a serious hunger situation. In 2024, 82 per cent of the population was classified as food insecure, 28.4 per cent undernourished, and 26.3 per cent of children under five suffered from stunting. Alarmingly, 1 in 10 children die before reaching age five.

Climate change is exacerbating these vulnerabilities through intensified floods, droughts, sea level rise, and coastal erosion. These environmental stresses undermine food production, access to clean water, and community resilience. In response, Action Against Hunger and its partners continued to implement a multi-sectoral, integrated approach to address undernutrition and its root causes in 2024. This included improving access to food and income, community-level nutrition surveillance, and enhanced access to clean water and sanitation. We also supported climate resilience initiatives such as climate-adapted agriculture, agroecology training, mangrove restoration, and access to weather information.

With support from the Embassy of Ireland, Action Against Hunger implemented nutrition-sensitive, climate adaptation and mitigation projects in Bonthe and Moyamba districts. Under the SHARE initiative, we rehabilitated 250 water points and 40 latrines in Moyamba, and in December 2024, launched a multi-year climate resilience project targeting Bonthe, Falaba, and Moyamba districts. Additionally, Action Against Hunger continued to implement the AFD-funded PROSSAN 2 project in Freetown and Bonthe to improve health services and practices, with a focus on maternal, neonatal, mental, and adolescent health. Support to health facilities aimed to ensure improved quality of care and service delivery.