SABI Sierra Leone

Christian Aid leads the the programme and partners include Restless Development, Social Development Direct and Humentum.

SABI builds relationships between citizens and the state, and encourages citizens to fulfil their own responsibilities for social amenities. 

Visit the SABI Sierra Leone website

The SABI programme has developed more than 3,600 ‘handmade’ infographics to present vital data about essential services to communities where literacy is low.

SABI carried out a nationwide citizen perception survey to get an accurate picture of services on the ground.

Young volunteers, coordinated by partner Restless Development, used smartphones to gather community views and experiences of accessing services.

But finding ways to share the data with people who had contributed was a challenge – especially in areas where people have low literacy skills. A series of black and white infographics were developed to feedback information.

An introduction to SABI

SABI recognises the integral role that communities played in the fight against Ebola, and presents an important opportunity for accountability programming. By once again placing communities at the forefront, SABI builds on the potential to make significant shifts in the role of citizens and the responsiveness of the state for improved service delivery in Sierra Leone.

Gender, equality and social inclusion are central to the programme. SABI will ensure vulnerable and excluded groups have the skills and support they need to become active agents of change in their communities.

SABI will contribute towards creating a more informed and empowered citizenry which can hold effective and ongoing dialogue with better engaged and more accountable state service providers.

• Gathering and generating evidence of citizens’ experiences of accessing and using state services.
• Strengthening community accountability networks and citizen feedback platforms, and establishing new ones where needed. These platforms will provide space for communities, service providers and local officials to identify concerns based on evidence gathered and work together to tackle key issues.
• Working with media to inform citizens about their rights and entitlements to services.
• Promoting the participation and leadership of women, youth, people with disabilities and other marginalised groups in decision making.
• Supporting the strengthening of national, district and local governance structures for effective state–citizen engagement.
• Strengthening the capacity of citizens in target communities to effectively engage their service providers and decision makers for improved services.
• Sharing stories about positive citizen–state engagement, helping to shift attitudes on engaging with the state.
• Sharing lessons with state actors and other accountability programmes on what does and does not work well in strengthening citizen–state relationships to improve service delivery.