By Aminata Abu Bakarr Kamara

In Sierra Leone, discussions about national development often centre on roads, electricity, education, and employment. Yet one of the most powerful barriers to progress remains largely ignored and under-discussed: poor sanitation. It is a silent crisis one that does not always make headlines but continues to undermine public health, economic productivity, and human dignity across the country.

From congested urban settlements to rural communities, inadequate sanitation affects millions of Sierra Leoneans daily. Open defecation, poorly maintained pit latrines, overflowing gutters, and unmanaged waste have become a common sight. These conditions are not merely

environmental concerns; they are development failures with far-reaching consequences.

The link between sanitation and health is undeniable. Poor sanitation fuels the spread of preventable diseases such as cholera, typhoid, diarrhoea, and dysentery illnesses that disproportionately affect children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Each outbreak places pressure on an already strained health system, diverts public funds toward emergency responses, and reduces the quality of life for families. When people are sick, they cannot work, study, or contribute productively to the economy.

Sanitation also directly affects education. Children who fall ill frequently miss school, while many schools themselves lack adequate toilet facilities. In particular, adolescent girls suffer when schools do not provide safe, private, and hygienic sanitation. The absence of such facilities contributes to absenteeism, poor academic performance, and, in some cases, school dropout. A nation cannot build a skilled workforce while its children are battling preventable illnesses linked to poor hygiene.

The economic cost of poor sanitation is equally alarming. Time lost to illness, healthcare expenses, reduced productivity, and environmental degradation all add up. Markets, beaches, and business districts affected by waste and foul odours discourage tourism and investment. In urban centres like Freetown, blocked drainage systems filled with plastic waste worsen flooding during the rainy season, damaging property and infrastructure and costing millions in repairs.

Beyond health and economics, sanitation is also a matter of dignity and equality. For many women and girls, the lack of safe sanitation facilities exposes them to harassment, insecurity, and health risks. Communities living in informal settlements often bear the heaviest burden, highlighting the link between sanitation, poverty, and social inequality.

Despite these realities, sanitation is often treated as an afterthought left to local councils with limited resources or addressed only during crises. This approach must change. National development cannot

succeed without deliberate, sustained investment in sanitation infrastructure, public education, and enforcement of environmental regulations.

Government action is critical, but it cannot work alone. Communities must take ownership of their environments, abandoning practices that endanger public health. Schools, religious institutions, market authorities, and traditional leaders all have a role to play in promoting hygiene and accountability. The private sector, too, can contribute through innovation, waste management solutions, and corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Most importantly, sanitation must be recognised for what it truly is: a foundation of development. Clean environments lead to healthier citizens, stronger economies, better educational outcomes, and greater national pride. No country can claim meaningful progress while its people live amid filth and preventable disease.

If Sierra Leone is serious about development, sanitation must move from the margins of policy discussions to the centre of national planning. The cost of ignoring it is too high, and the consequences are already visible.

Poor sanitation may be silent, but its impact on national development is loud and destructive. Addressing it is not just a public health obligation it is a national priority.

Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Wednesday, 17th December 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)