ABSTRACT
Sierra Leone is one of the world’s most malnourished countries. Despite considerable reductions in malnutrition rates since 2005, today’s statistics paint a troubling picture: 22 per cent of children are underweight; 44 per cent are stunted or too short for their age; and 8 per cent are wasted or too thin for their height (Statistics Sierra Leone and UNICEF 2011; Koroma et al. 2012: 39). Malnutrition is one of the underlying causes of 46 per cent of deaths of children under five (Aguayo et al. 2003). This situation is both a result of, and compounded by, the country’s high levels of food insecurity. In 2011, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported that 45 per cent of households experience food insecurity in the wet season (June through September), and in 2009, the country was ranked among the top six states most severely affected by and vulnerable to the effects of the global economic crisis by the International Food Policy Research Institute (ACDIVOCA 2011). Even in comparison with other sub-Saharan African countries with similar per capita GDP levels – such as the Gambia, Togo and Zimbabwe – Sierra Leone’s malnutrition problem stands out as a particular concern (World Bank n.d.).
