Build Health International has been supporting strategic growth at Koidu Government Hospital in Sierra Leone since the 2014-16 Ebola epidemic, completing a hospital master plan and providing critical consulting services in collaboration with Partners In Health. Now, BHI is now undertaking design, engineering, construction management and procurement for a new 10-building Maternal Center of Excellence at the hospital, in close partnership with PIH and clinical staff. The Center is part of an ambitious strategy by Partners In Health to transform the risks and realities of childbearing in Sierra Leone. One of the most significant factors behind the country’s high maternal mortality rate is lack of access to, or trust in, health facilities. The design team set out to reflect the values of compassion, openness and dignity; to eliminate barriers to use; and to enable the provision of the highest quality of care possible – all key to building trust.

In Sierra Leone, families and communities play a key role in care provision. The design reflects the need for family members to be accommodated in clinical spaces alongside patients, while managing space and resource constraints. This is accomplished through strategically placed courtyards, waiting rooms, and dormitories for mothers’ with babies in the NICU, as many parents will have no means to pay for local accommodation. The design also uses private locations and discrete layouts for sensitive services like family planning and youth counseling.

Renderings provided by The Living, an Autodesk research studio.