The new partnership between the Randal Charitable Foundation and Doctors with Africa CUAMM UK will help ensure safe Caesarean sections and strengthen emergency maternity services at Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH) in Freetown.
The 12-month project, supported by a grant from the Randal Charitable Foundation from June 2026, will help ensure access to safe Caesarean sections for approximately 3,000 women, with an estimated 6,000 mothers and newborns benefiting directly. The Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH) is Sierra Leone’s national referral centre for maternal care and comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care. At PCMH, women referred with life-threatening pregnancy and childbirth complications require timely access to surgery and high-quality emergency care.
The Randal Foundation is supporting the project to help protect women and newborns in Sierra Leone by strengthening access to safe Caesarean sections and high-quality emergency care. As the Foundation explains, its support will enable CUAMM to provide essential medicines and medical supplies, alongside on-site training, mentoring and technical assistance for medical and nursing staff at PCMH.
“By working alongside CUAMM UK, we are able to support not only immediate, life-saving interventions but also the long-term strengthening of healthcare systems, ensuring lasting impact for mothers and their babies,” the Foundation said.
The Randal Foundation’s support will help maintain uninterrupted Caesarean section capacity through the provision of essential medicines, medical equipment, laboratory reagents and other critical medical consumables, with a particular focus on women receiving care in the Emergency Department and High Dependency Unit (HDU).
The project will also strengthen infection prevention and control, providing essential materials to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections and support safer care for mothers and newborns.
Alongside these resources, specialised clinicians will provide on-site training, mentoring and technical assistance to medical and nursing staff working in the HDU and Emergency Department. This will strengthen local capacity to manage obstetric emergencies and care for critically ill mothers, helping ensure that improvements in the quality and safety of care are sustained beyond the life of the project.
“We are grateful to the Randal Foundation for this vital support. This grant will help us ensure that women with life-threatening complications can access safe Caesarean sections and high-quality emergency care at Princess Christian Maternity Hospital in Freetown. Thanks to the Foundation’s generosity, our teams can provide essential medicines and supplies, strengthen infection prevention, and mentor local health staff so that more mothers and their babies survive and thrive. This partnership is a powerful affirmation of our shared commitment to protecting the lives of some of the most vulnerable women and newborns in Sierra Leone.” Said Andrea Atzori, Head of International Relations at Doctors with Africa CUAMM.
The partnership builds on our longstanding commitment to maternal and newborn health in Sierra Leone. We have been working at PCMH since 2016, supporting efforts to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality by strengthening clinical capacity, health information systems and hospital management, while improving the availability of essential equipment and supplies.
The new project combines immediate support for lifesaving obstetric care with investment in the skills and systems needed to strengthen maternity services over the longer term. By ensuring that essential resources are available while supporting local health workers through training and mentoring, the partnership aims to contribute to a stronger and more resilient maternal health service at Sierra Leone’s national referral hospital.
