UK funding for Sierra Leone’s newborn care programme is now expected to conclude this December, two years earlier than initially planned. This comes as global aid funding has seen a sharp decline since the beginning of 2025, with major donors scaling back support.
The UK has already decreased its spending on overseas development from 0.7% of national income to 0.3%. Unicef UK ambassador David Harewood stated that these cuts are already being felt in Sierra Leone, impacting programmes that support children's health, safety, and education globally.
Harewood, who visited a special-care baby unit in Makeni regional hospital in Sierra Leone, noted that international paediatric support and specialist neonatal nurse training have ceased. Reductions in free healthcare programmes have also affected the availability of life-saving medicines for newborns, children, and pregnant women.
Since 2017, Unicef has supported Sierra Leone’s government in establishing special-care baby units, leading to an increase in annual admissions from approximately 1,000 to 14,000, and an improvement in survival rates from 78% to 90% by the end of 2025. Harewood highlighted that around 45,000 newborns in Sierra Leone require specialised care annually, but existing services only reach about 31%.
Harewood supports Unicef UK’s No Choice But Childhood campaign and advocates for the UK government to ringfence at least 25% of its overseas development spending for programmes directly supporting children. He also called for a credible route to restore spending to 0.7% of national income on overseas development.