Sierra Leone

==== Overview ====

As of 2016, about 12% of the population of Sierra Leone had access to electricity. Of that 12%, 10% was in the capital Freetown, and the remaining 90% of the country used 2% of the nation's electricity.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5aec17b7ed915d42f7c6beab/Energy_Africa_Access_Campaign_-_Policy_Compact_Sierra_Leone_Final_Report.pdf|title=Energy Africa Access Campaign Policy Compact Sierra Leone Final Report|website=assets.publishing.service.gov.uk|access-date=2018-12-16}}</ref> The majority of the population relies on biomass fuels for their daily survival, with firewood and coal used most prevalently.<ref name=":5" /> The burning of these sources has been reported to have adverse health effects on women and children.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Taylor|first1=Eldred Tunde|last2=Nakai|first2=Satoshi|date=19 June 2012|title=Prevalence of Acute Respiratory Infections in Women and Children in Western Sierra Leone due to Smoke from Wood and Charcoal Stoves|journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health|volume=9|issue=6|pages=2252–2265|doi=10.3390/ijerph9062252|pmid=22829802|pmc=3397376|issn=1660-4601|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2012 study was done on the correlation between Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI), and burning biomass fuels in the home. The results were that 64% of children were diagnosed with ARI where firewood stoves were used, and 44% where charcoal stoves were used.<ref name=":5" /> The use of coal and firewood has also posed environmental concerns as they are both in conflict with the push for more sustainable sources of energy.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last1=Munro|first1=Paul|last2=van der Horst|first2=Greg|last3=Healy|first3=Stephen|date=June 2017|title=Energy justice for all? Rethinking Sustainable Development Goal 7 through struggles over traditional energy practices in Sierra Leone|journal=Energy Policy|volume=105|pages=635–641|doi=10.1016/j.enpol.2017.01.038|bibcode=2017EnPol.105..635M |issn=0301-4215}}</ref> As a result, the commercialisation of firewood and coal has been a point of contention with aid donors and government agencies such as the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources and the Forestry Division.<ref name=":6" /> There have been strong pushes for both solar and hydropower to become the dominant sources of energy in Sierra Leone because of the UN's [[Sustainable Development Goals]], particularly goal number seven (affordable and clean energy). Sierra Leone's tropical climate, heavy annual rainfall, and abundance of rivers give it the potential to realistically pursue more solar and hydropower alternatives.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/dam/sierraleone/docs/focusareadocs/undp_sle_energyprofile.pdf|title=NATIONAL ENERGY PROFILE OF SIERRA LEONE [JUNE, 2012]|website=www.undp.org|access-date=16 December 2018|archive-date=7 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807083545/http://www.undp.org/content/dam/sierraleone/docs/focusareadocs/undp_sle_energyprofile.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>