New effort to combat maternal deaths in Sierra Leone

Once described as a human rights emergency, Sierra Leone for some years had one of the world's worst maternal and infant mortality rates.

Each year, thousands of women bleed to death after giving birth; most die in their homes, some die on the way to hospital, in taxis or on foot.

This may begin to change though with the country rolling out free health care for pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under five from today.

The BBC's Umaru Fofana reports from Freetown.