Embassy of Iceland in Freetown

01/07/2026

Youth leadership and involvement is pivotal to end FGM 👇

17/06/2026

Happy Icelandic National Day! 🇮🇸

Today, 17th June, Icelanders celebrate the founding of the Republic of Iceland in 1944, a date which was chosen to mark the birthday of Jón Sigurðsson, the 19th century leader of the Icelandic independence movement.

Hæ hó og jibbí jei!

12/06/2026

Alþingi samþykkti nýverið þingsályktun um að efna til þjóðaratkvæðagreiðslu um framhald aðildarviðræðna Íslands við Evrópusambandið. Atkvæðagreiðslan fer fram laugardaginn 29. ágúst 2026, en utankjörfundaratkvæðagreiðsla verður opin frá 27. júlí 2026.

Hægt verður að kjósa í sendiráðinu. Nánari upplýsingar um fyrirkomulag verða kynntar þegar nær dregur.

Af þessu tilefni hefur utanríkisráðuneytið opnað sérstaka upplýsingasíðu á íslensku og ensku sem verður uppfærð reglulega eftir því sem nýjar upplýsingar berast. Sendiráðið mun sömuleiðis veita frekari upplýsingar þegar þær liggja fyrir, en í millitíðinni hvetjum við öll til að skoða upplýsingarsíðurnar, sem eru í athugasemdum hér að neðan.

05/06/2026

From 1–4 June, the Embassy of Iceland in Freetown joined UNFPA Sierra Leone, the Government of Sierra Leone, and implementing partners on a field monitoring mission across Koinadugu, Falaba, and Karene districts to witness the impact of our jointly supported three-year ‘Accelerating progress towards the elimination of Female Ge***al Mutilation (FGM) in Sierra Leone.’

Led by the UNFPA Country Representative, and joined by the Embassy of Iceland‘s Head of Mission, the visit included engagements with traditional leaders, community members, FGM survivor networks, men and boys’ clubs, and school-based youth groups. We saw firsthand how communities are working together to advance girls’ education, challenge harmful gender norms, and promote the rights, health, and dignity of women and girls.

The mission reaffirmed that lasting change happens when communities, leaders, schools, and survivor networks unite around a shared commitment to equality and inclusion.

Reflecting on the filed mission, the Head of Mission of the Embassy of Iceland in Freetown had this to say: "What stood out most was the determination of communities themselves—traditional leaders advocating against child marriage, girls returning to school and thriving, young people leading conversations on harmful practices, and FGM survivor networks championing change in their communities."

📷 Photo credit: UNFPA Sierra Leone

04/06/2026

It has been an honour for the Embassy to participate in this important monitoring visit and to witness the impact Iceland’s collaboration with UNFPA and the Government of Sierra Leone is having in Koinadugu, Falaba, and Karene districts.

03/06/2026

22/05/2026

Through the collective efforts of Iceland, UNFPA, the Government of Sierra Leone and healthcare workers nationwide, progress continues toward ensuring that every woman and girl has access to safe, quality, and dignified maternal healthcare.

Last week, Ms Pálína Matthíasdóttir, Director of Bilateral Development Cooperation at Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, officially handed over the refurbished maternity wing and dedicated obstetric fistula ward at Makeni Regional Government Hospital, along with the refurbished Community Health Centre in Fadugu, Koinadugu District.

She was joined by Ms Ásdís Bjarnadóttir, Head of Mission at the Embassy of Iceland in Freetown, Mr Kunle Adeneyi, UNFPA Country Representative, representatives from the Ministry of Health and District Health Management Teams.

These upgraded facilities will help improve access to quality healthcare services for women, girls, and communities, while strengthening maternal health, dignity, and respectful care.

As the world marks the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, this milestone highlights the importance of investing in safe motherhood and ensuring that no woman or girl suffers from preventable childbirth injuries. Obstetric fistula remains one of the most serious childbirth-related injuries, often caused by prolonged obstructed labour without timely medical care, and can leave women facing severe physical, emotional, and social consequences.

Through the Government of Iceland’s ongoing four-year partnership with UNFPA and the Government of Sierra Leone, significant progress is being made to prevent and manage obstetric fistula in Sierra Leone. This partnership is helping to strengthen health systems, improve maternal and newborn healthcare services, build the capacity of healthcare workers, and restore dignity and hope to women and girls affected by fistula.

Makeni Regional Government Hospital, the largest health facility in Sierra Leone’s Northern Region, serves a population of more than 1.3 million people. Through the Iceland-funded fistula programme, renovations covered the maternity wing, including an obstetric fistula ward and the hospital has received essential maternal and newborn healthcare equipment, while staff members have benefited from training and capacity-building in reproductive and maternal health interventions. These efforts will contribute to improved quality of care for mothers and children, as well as stronger community engagement and outreach programmes.

The Fadugu Community Health Centre, which serves more than 7,600 people in Koinadugu District, recorded 425 deliveries in 2025 alone. Support provided through the programme — including maternal and newborn healthcare equipment such as midwifery kits, examination couches, baby weighing scales, medicine cabinets, and drip stands — alongside facility refurbishments and training for nurses and midwives, has strengthened the centre’s ability to provide client-centred and respectful maternity care. The programme has also enabled the CHC to expand its outreach activities and respond to increasing healthcare needs within the community.

Together, Iceland, UNFPA, the Government of Sierra Leone, and healthcare workers across the country are working to strengthen maternal health services and access to skilled care which is essential to preventing obstetric fistula and protecting the health and dignity of women and girls.

21/05/2026

Last week, Pálína Matthíasdóttir, Director of Bilateral Development Cooperation at Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, visited Kambia district in Sierra Leone, where Iceland supports the Lite Salone pilot project.

Access to reliable energy is one of the main challenges facing Sierra Leone, with most of the country’s households not connected to the national grid or mini-grids. The energy situation is especially challenging in rural areas where the majority of households have no access to electricity and connecting those households to the grid is economically unfeasible due to the high costs and dispersed nature of rural settlements. For this reason, emphasis has been placed on developing off-grid renewable energy solutions, particularly solar energy, that meet the energy needs of rural communities Lite Salone is a part of that effort.

Lite Salone is a joint initiative between Iceland, Ireland, GIZ and the European Union that is implemented by Trócaire. It aims to provide remote households in Kambia district with access to electricity through solar energy solutions. The project applies an Energy-as-a-Service public-private partnership approach where households in Kambia are provided with solar home systems (it includes light bulbs, a radio and a USB phone charger) that is installed, operated and maintained by Easy Solar. The households do not need to pay the high upfront costs associated with solar equipment but instead they pay a monthly fee that provides access to lighting, a radio, an USB charging station and regular maintenance. To date, solar equipment has been installed in more than 7,500 households across four chiefdoms in Kambia district, with the aim of eventually extending access to households in all chiefdoms of the district.

Last week, the Director for Bilateral Development Cooperation and representatives from the Embassy of Iceland in Freetown, together with representatives from Trócaire, KADDRO and Easy Solar visited Mambolo chiefdom in Kambia district, where more than 2,700 households are currently participating in Lite Salone. Discussions with community members clearly demonstrated the strong need for the project and the significant impact that access to a reliable source of energy has had on the community.

Community members highlighted that household lighting has enabled children to study in the evenings, which was previously not possible. Livelihood opportunities have also improved, as people are now able to work later into the day and evening, while household security has increased because the lighting helps deter both thieves and wild animals. Access to mobile phone charging was also cited as an important benefit as residents previously had to pay private providers for this service.

„One of the cornerstones of Iceland’s development cooperation is strengthening the resilience and improving the living standards of underserved communities in partner countries, including through improving access to clean and affordable energy. The Lite Salone project aligns closely with this priority.

A recent visit to Mambolo chiefdom provided an opportunity to observe the projec’s impact firsthand and to engage with community members about their experiences. It was my first visit to Kambia district and to the Lite Salone project sites, and it was particularly encouraging to hear from community members that access to solar lighting has delivered tangible benefits, including improved security and expanded opportunities for children to study, as well as for adults to continue working after dark. We were further encouraged to learn that an increasing number of households are requesting solar home systems, reflecting the project’s significant and growing positive impact in Mambolo chiefdom and across parts of Kambia District“, said Pálína Matthíasdóttir, Director of Bilateral Development Cooperation at Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

24/02/2026

Last Friday, UN Women, in collaboration with Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs and the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, and with support from the Government of Iceland, launched a new three-year project titled Empowering Communities Through Gender-Responsive Governance.

Informed by an Iceland-funded Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) mapping exercise, the project will be implemented in five coastal districts: Bonthe, Moyamba, Port Loko, Kambia, and Western Area Rural. It is expected to benefit more than 1.9 million people by strengthening local governance systems and service delivery at the community level.

The initiative aims to build the capacity of local councils to ensure that women, youth, and girls, particularly those who are vulnerable and marginalised, have equal access to quality services, resources, and opportunities. By promoting gender-responsive and inclusive governance, the project seeks to enhance participation in social and economic life, leading to more equitable development outcomes and stronger, more resilient communities.

Gender equality remains a cornerstone of Iceland’s domestic and foreign policy, as well as its international development cooperation. Speaking at the launch, Ásdís Bjarnadóttir, Head of Mission at the Embassy of Iceland in Freetown, stated:
“When local institutions are inclusive and responsive, and when the voices of all citizens, regardless of gender, are heard, valued, and integrated into decision-making, services become more equitable, resources are allocated more fairly, and development outcomes improve for everyone. Investing in women’s economic and political participation and leadership helps close gender gaps and contributes to building more equal, inclusive, and prosperous societies.” Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, WOMEN Sierra Leone, of Local Government and Community Affairs