Open Budget Survey Calls for Stronger Budget Transparency and Child-Focused Spending in Sierra Leone

Freetown, Sierra Leone — 11 June 2026 — The 2025 Open Budget Survey report was today launched in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, the Budget Advocacy Network, Christian Aid, the International Budget Partnership and UNICEF, under the theme: “Accountability at a Crossroads: Safeguarding Budget Transparency and Child-Centered Spending in Sierra Leone.” The survey assesses budget transparency, public participation, and oversight worldwide.

The 2025 Open Budget Survey shows that Sierra Leone scored 50 out of 100 on budget transparency, 30 on public participation, and 50 on oversight. Compared with 2023, the country improved on public participation and oversight, while transparency declined slightly. Despite this, Sierra Leone’s transparency score remains above the regional average and higher than several peers, including Ghana, Nigeria, and The Gambia.

The report highlights several important government actions, including:

• The timely online publication of the Pre-Budget Statement;
• Continued development of Citizens Budgets to make fiscal information more accessible and understandable to the public; and
• Efforts to increase opportunities for public participation during budget formulation.

Despite this progress, the report finds that meaningful public participation across the full budget cycle remains limited, especially for women, young people, persons with disabilities, and marginalized communities.

“Transparent and inclusive budget processes are fundamental to ensuring that national priorities translate into real investments in children,” said Liv Elin Indreiten, Acting UNICEF Representative in Sierra Leone. “Every budget decision is a decision about children’s futures. Even in times of fiscal pressure, child-responsive budgeting must

remain a national priority to protect access to essential services and support Sierra Leone’s long-term development and stability.”

“Budget transparency must be matched by strong oversight. Parliament, Audit Service Sierra Leone, and citizens all have a vital role in ensuring that public funds are spent as approved and that government delivers value for money and better services for citizens,” said Mattia Koi Dimoh, Country Lead, Christian Aid.

UNICEF emphasized that children and young people are among those most affected by public spending decisions, yet they often have the least opportunity to shape them.

The report is being launched at a time of growing fiscal pressure in Sierra Leone, with major implications for investment in children.

Rising debt obligations, declining external financing, and budget execution challenges are shrinking the fiscal space for essential services that children depend on, including health, education, nutrition, social protection, water and sanitation, and child protection.

Public investment in critical social sectors such as child protection also remains extremely low. In 2026, spending on child protection is just SLE16—about US$0.66—per child per year, far below what is needed to protect children from violence, abuse, exploitation, and other harmful practices.

At the same time, debt servicing continues to absorb a large share of public resources. Over the past five years, spending on debt service has exceeded total expenditure across all social sectors combined.

Partners called for renewed action to strengthen child-sensitive budget processes, improve transparency and accountability, and ensure that public resources are directed to social sectors essential for children’s survival, development, protection and future opportunities.

Key priorities include:

• Improving budget transparency through the timely publication of clear, comprehensive and accessible information;
• Expanding meaningful and institutionalized public participation across the entire budget cycle;
• Strengthening parliamentary oversight of the budget; and
• Protecting and prioritizing investments in children, even during periods of fiscal consolidation.

Partners also reaffirmed their commitment to continue working with the Government of Sierra Leone to strengthen public financial management systems and support the effective implementation of these priorities.

At a critical moment for Sierra Leone, every Leone must count — and every Leone must work for children.

For media inquiries, please contact: 

• UNICEF: Suzanne Wooster, [email protected]
• BAN: Abu Bakarr Tarawally, [email protected]