The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Sierra Leone has handed over thirty-two (32) brand new motorbikes to boost the Ministry of Social Welfare’s capacity to provide Psychosocial Support Services in the current COVID-19 response.

The motorbikes will be dispatched to Social Workers in all the 16 districts to support in their daily assignments such as rapid case management for survivors of violence and abuse and tracing of vulnerable children.

“COVID 19 is real, we must ensure that our vulnerable families including women, children, the disabled and elderly are well protected during this pandemic,” said Hon. Bindu Dassama, Minister of Social welfare.

The handover of the motorbikes is timely as the current COVID-19 pandemic is presenting yet another threat to the protection and wellbeing of children. Already 2 out 10 adolescent girls in the country get pregnant before the age of 19, while eighty seven percent (87%) of children aged 1 to 14 years have experienced some form of violent discipline[1].

UNICEF is therefore strengthening its work with the Ministry of Social Welfare to ensure that children, women and vulnerable groups are protected against the increased risks of violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect during the current pandemic.

“As we continue working with Government and our partners to stop the further transmission of the virus, it is also our responsibility to keep children and their families safe from the secondary impact of the pandemic. Monitoring and supporting the protection of children, women and their families is therefore a key component of our current work,” said Dr. Suleiman Braimoh, UNICEF Representative.

Beyond the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the motorbikes will be used at district levels for various prevention and response services. This includes strengthening the social welfare workforce, establishing and supporting prevention and response services, strengthening coordination between Government and Civil Society Organisations and linking community redress mechanisms with the formal justice systems.

[1] According the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of 2017