Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war caused huge displacement, loss of life and widespread destruction to buildings, roads and other infrastructure.

The International Rescue Committee began providing emergency services in 1999 but since the peace agreement in 2002 we have shifted emphasis to post-conflict development, focusing on health, education and child protection, and women's rights.

Sierra Leone remains one of the poorest and most unequal countries in the world, with the world's highest rate of child mortality: one in four children die before their fifth birthday. The IRC supports medical centres, hospital services and local health units to ensure women can access care facilities and for first-line treatment of three of the major childhood killers: pneumonia, malaria and diarrhoea.

We also work with children engaged in child labour and provide educational support to secondary schools in Sierra Leone. We promote women's rights and operate three centres offering services for survivors of sexual assault and we work to build local capacity and increase participation in all our activities.