FALABA, 20 October 2026 – A pregnant woman from Farawa village in Wolabara Chiefdom, Falaba District, has died after the ambulance taking her to hospital got stuck on the deplorable Falaba–Kabala road, medical authorities have confirmed.
Falaba District Medical Officer, Dr. Daniel Lavalie, said the woman was in emergency labour and had been referred to Kabala Government Hospital in neighbouring Koinadugu District, because Falaba District has no functional referral hospital of its own.
According to Dr. Lavalie, the first ambulance sent to Farawa got stuck due to the bad road condition. A second ambulance was dispatched, but the delay proved fatal.
“Sadly, the woman died while being transported to the hospital,” Dr. Lavalie told reporters.
A recurring tragedy in Falaba
The incident has renewed outrage over road conditions and access to emergency healthcare in Falaba – Sierra Leone’s newest district, created in 2017 and bordering Guinea.
Falaba is one of the most cut-off districts in the country, especially during the rains. The main road from Falaba town (Bendugu) to Kabala is about 85km of laterite track that becomes almost impassable, with deep mud, collapsed culverts and broken bridges.
For most health emergencies, patients from Mongor, Falaba, and Wolabara chiefdoms must be transported to Kabala Government Hospital in Koinadugu, as the district has no Government hospital with a functioning operating theatre, blood bank and specialist doctors. The proposed Falaba District Hospital project is yet to be completed.
Residents say the situation is worse in remote villages like Farawa, where a journey that should take 2-3 hours can take 6-8 hours in the rainy season.
Maternal health at risk
Sierra Leone has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. The 2023 Demographic and Health Survey put maternal deaths at 443 per 100,000 live births. Government’s flagship Free Health Care Initiative guarantees free care for pregnant women and lactating mothers, but poor roads continue to undermine timely referrals – the critical second delay in the “Three Delays” model that kills mothers.
Falaba consistently records poor maternal health indicators, with high home delivery rates, teenage pregnancy, and limited emergency obstetric care.
Civil society groups and local authorities in Falaba have repeatedly called on Government, through the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA) and Ministry of Works, to prioritize the Falaba–Kabala road, as well as feeder roads linking chiefdoms.
“Every rainy season we lose mothers and children because ambulances cannot reach them. How many more lives must be lost before this road is fixed?” a community health worker in Wolabara asked.
The death has sparked fresh calls for:
1. Urgent grading and spot improvement of the Falaba–Kabala road before the rains worsen;
2. Speedy completion of Falaba District Hospital at Bendugu with a functional theatre;
3. Deployment of additional 4×4 ambulances and community emergency transport schemes in hard-to-reach chiefdoms.
