By Ibrahim Sesay
Sierra Leone has taken a significant step toward strengthening maternal, newborn and child health services while expanding access to legal identity, following a high-level stakeholders’ coordination meeting held in Freetown on the nationwide rollout of the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Handbook.
The meeting, which took place at the New Brookfields Hotel, brought together senior Government officials, development partners, health professionals, Civil Society Organisations and representatives of United Nations agencies. The gathering aimed to coordinate strategies for the effective nationwide implementation of the MCH Handbook and to reinforce collaboration among institutions responsible for maternal and child welfare.
A key outcome of the meeting was an important directive issued by the Director General of the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA), Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi. In his address, he announced that registration officers across Sierra Leone have been instructed to recognize the Maternal and Child Health Handbook as a valid supporting document for facilitating birth registration.
According to the NCRA Director General, the decision is intended to simplify the process of registering births while ensuring that more children obtain legal identity from the earliest stages of life.
“This gathering represents more than a routine coordination meeting,” Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi stated. “It reflects a shared commitment among stakeholders to integrate maternal and child health services with civil registration, ensuring that every child born in Sierra Leone is recognized, protected and given a legal identity.”
The Maternal and Child Health Handbook is a comprehensive home-based record designed to track maternal, newborn and child health from pregnancy through a child’s first five years. The handbook provides detailed documentation of prenatal care, childbirth information, immunization records and child development milestones.
Health experts say the initiative is aligned with standards recommended by the World Health Organization and has proven effective in improving care-seeking behavior among families. It also enhances communication between healthcare providers and parents while encouraging greater involvement of fathers in maternal and child health matters.
The introduction of the handbook forms part of broader national efforts to improve health outcomes for mothers and children while strengthening data systems within the health sector.
Following a successful pilot phase conducted between 2019 and 2021 in selected districts, the Government of Sierra Leone formally adopted the MCH Handbook as a national standard in 2022. Since then, extensive training programmes have been conducted for health workers across the country in preparation for the full nationwide rollout scheduled for 2026.
The initiative is being implemented under the “Project for Strengthening the Continuum of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health,” which is supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Development partners involved in the project say the programme will significantly enhance continuity of care for mothers and children, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
Beyond its role in healthcare, the handbook is also expected to play an important role in strengthening civil registration processes. Families will be able to use the document as supporting evidence when transitioning from clinical birth records to formal birth certificates issued by the National Civil Registration Authority.
In addition, the handbook will serve as a practical record of age, immunization history and child health status, which can assist families during school enrolment and other administrative processes.
Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi emphasized that birth registration remains a fundamental right and an essential component of child protection and national development. Without legal identity, children may face barriers in accessing education, healthcare and other public services.
He noted that Sierra Leone has made considerable progress in modernizing its civil registration and identity management systems under the leadership of President Julius Maada Bio. According to him, more than 93 percent of the population is now covered under the National Identification Number (NIN) system, representing a major milestone in the country’s efforts to strengthen identity management.
By integrating maternal and child health services with civil registration processes, authorities say Sierra Leone is working to ensure that every child born in the country is properly documented and included in national development planning.
Stakeholders at the meeting expressed optimism that the nationwide rollout of the Maternal and Child Health Handbook will further strengthen the country’s health system while ensuring that no child in Sierra Leone grows up without a recognized legal identity.
