Sierra Leone is still recovering from a decade-long civil war (1991-2002) that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than two million people, about one-third of the population.

Despite considerable natural mineral resources, the majority of the population lives on just $2 a day.

Rates of child and maternal mortality are the highest in Africa, and life expectancy hovers around 40.

With little infrastructure, a weak national health system and ongoing sociopolitical turmoil, Sierra Leone ranks at the very bottom of the United Nations Human Development Index.