Photo Credit Dominic Chavez

For many years, the news coming out of Sierra Leone was all misery. But in the last few years, the coverage has been more nuanced, sometimes showing positive developments and reflecting gains made by the government and administration of President Ernest Bai Koroma.

Much of this reporting has been the result of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation’s free health care initiative, which was rolled out on April 27, 2010. The New York Times ran a story Sunday by reporter Adam Nossiter titled, In Sierra Leone, New Hope for Children and Pregnant Women.

In it, Nossiter writes about the impact free health care has had in knocking down the substantial barrier to delivering babies: It costs too much for many families. He also puts Sierra Leone in the context of a broader trend, writing:

Sierra Leone is at the vanguard of a revolution — heavily subsidized for now by international donors — that appears to be substantially lessening health dangers here in one of the riskiest countries in the world for pregnant women and small children.

Country after country in sub-Saharan Africa has waived medical fees in recent years, particularly for women and children, and while experts acknowledge that many more people are getting care, they caution that it is still too early to declare that the efforts have measurably improved health on the continent.

In Sierra Leone, though, it seems clear that lives are being saved, providing an early and concrete lesson about the impact of making health care free for the very poor and vulnerable.

He also quotes Robert Yates, a senior health economist in Britain’s Department for International Development, as saying the results in Sierra Leone have been “nothing short of spectacular.”

But he shows the still-substantial challenges that remain. Health Minister Zainab Bangura tells Nossiter that her country needs 54 gynecologists but has only four.

She adds, “We lost 10 years” to civil war. “We needed to embark on a drastic measure.”

In all, the article takes an even-handed approach to the situation in Sierra Leone, and that includes reporting of the type not seen for many years from there: Giving voice to people who now feel the government is working to try to save lives.