Examining Human Capital in Sierra Leone

1. The Future of Work – Preparing for Disruption
EXAMINING HUMAN CAPITAL IN SIERRA LEONE

2. Definitions of Human Capital
•According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): “the
knowledge, skills, competencies and other attributes embodied in individuals or groups of individuals
acquired during their life and used to produce goods, services or ideas in market circumstances”
(https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/26076/economics/human-capital-definition-and-importance/ )
•According to Claudia Goldin, 2014. Department of Economics Harvard University and National
Bureau of Economic Research: “is the stock of skills that the labour force possess”
(https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/goldin/files/human_capital_handbook_of_cliometrics_0.pdf )
•According to Richard Huff, Encyclopaedia Britannica: “intangible collective resources possessed by
individuals and groups within a given population. These resources include all the knowledge, talents, skills,
abilities, experience, intelligence, training, judgment, and wisdom possessed individually and collectively,
the cumulative total of which represents a form of wealth available to nations and organizations to
accomplish their goals” (https://www.britannica.com/topic/human-capital )

3. Three key Components
Survival – Will kids born today survive to school age?
School – How far will they go in school and how much
will they learn?
Health – Will kids leave school in good health and be ready for
further learning and/or work?
Source:
(https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/30466/WPS8593.pdf?sequence=1
&isAllowed=y)

4. Current Status and Situational Analysis in Sierra Leone
Survival
In 2018, under-5 mortality rate for Sierra Leone was 108.31 deaths per thousand live births. Under-5 mortality
rate of Sierra Leone fell gradually from 339.67 deaths per thousand live births in 1969 to 108.31 deaths per
thousand live births in 2018. Source:( https://knoema.com/atlas/Sierra-
Leone/topics/Demographics/Mortality/Under-5-mortality-rate )
Sierra Leone Mortality Rate Infant per 1000 Live Births
Source: ( www.tradingeconomics.com )

5. Demographics Infant mortality rate for the 10 highest countries inAfrica.
As indicated in the Infant mortality rate bar chart, Sierra Leone is still among the countries having the
highest infant mortality inAfrica, despite the gains achieved over the years.
(https://www.indexmundi.com/map/?v=29&r=af&l=en)
Country
Infant mortality rate (deaths/1,000
live births)
Year
Somalia 95 2017
Central African Republic 86 2017
Guinea-Bissau 86 2017
Chad 85 2017
Niger 81 2017
Burkina Faso 72 2017
Nigeria 70 2017
Mali 70 2017
Sierra Leone 68 2017
Congo, Democratic Republic 68 2017

6. Current Status and Situational Analysis in Sierra Leone
School
Among others, the two most critical areas are the expected Years of School and the learning outcome
Expected Years of School
It covers the number of years of education that a child passing through the current
school system in Sierra Leone is expected to acquire given the current enrolment rate.
Current School System in Sierra Leone Source:(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Sierra_Leone )

7. Current Status and Situational Analysis in Sierra Leone
School Enrolment Rate
Enrolment rates are expressed as net enrolment rates, which are calculated by dividing the number of students
of a particular age group enrolled in all levels of education by the size of the population of that age group.
Source: (https://data.oecd.org/eduatt/enrolment-rate.htm )
Sierra Leone Enrolment rate
School enrolment, primary (% gross)
in Sierra Leone was reported at
115 % in 2016
Source: (www.tradingeconomics.com )

8. Current Status and Situational Analysis in Sierra Leone
Learning Outcome
Despite recent progress, Sierra Leone's education sector still faces a lot of challenges that
effect students output at various levels.
Source: (http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/278200-
1099079877269/547664-1099508849130/39166_Edu_Sierra_Leone.pdf )
Also, according to OECD the Programme International Student Assessment (PISA)2018 result
reveals that developing countries performance in reading, mathematics and science were very low
as compared to developed countries. And the same for Global Competence for children aged 15
years below.
Source: (https://www.oecd.org/pisa/aboutpisa/pisa-based-test-for-schools-faq.htm )

9. Current Status and Situational Analysis in Sierra Leone
Health
A good health is key for human beings productivity at every stage in their life.
Among others, two key indicators are used to examine the health status of a nation, namely:
•Stunting Rate - Fraction of kids under 5 more than 2 reference standard deviations below
reference median height-for-age.
•Adult Survival Rate - Fraction of 15 year-olds who survive to age 60.
source:
(https://www.saltinstituteghana.org/storage/libraryFiles/HumanCapitalIndexmethodology.pdf )

10. Current Status and Situational Analysis in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone Stunting Rate
According to the 2015 population census, national prevalence of stunting in sierra Leone was
31.3% translating to 293,736 stunted children
Wherein;
• 21.3% are moderately stunted
• 10.0 % are severely stunted
With more boys reported to be stunted.
Source: ( https://reliefweb.int/report/sierra-leone/sierra-leone-national-nutrition-survey-2017-
august-28-october-10-2017 )

11. Current Status and Situational Analysis in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone Adult Survival Rate
Sierra Leone`s adult mortality rate was 34.45 deaths per 100 population in 2015 and growing at
an average annual rate of 4.08 %.
Source: (https://knoema.com/atlas/Sierra-Leone/topics/Demographics/Mortality/Adult-
mortality-rate )

12. Findings
The following are the findings:
• Sierra Leone Infant Mortality Rate is very high.
• Pre-primary education for toddlers (1-6yrs) is not part of the formal schooling structure.
• School enrolment rate is low.
• Learning outcome is very poor.
• The percentage of the population that is stunted is very high.
• The adult mortality rate is very alarming.

13. Recommendations
To resolve the above findings, the following are recommended:
• Health facilities should be established at community level and proper training administered to
staff.
• Community sensitization should be embarked on to educate the population on the various health
tips and the health facilities that are available.
• Implement a policy that all children (1 – 6yrs) should go through pri-primary education.
• Implement a policy that all children should be enrolled in to formal schooling.
• Restructure the school curriculum to ensure that all children by the age of 3 years should be
able to read and write.
• Make available the appropriate nutritional foods for children and the adult population.