Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in Sierra Leone?
In 2026, Sierra Leone scores 27 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 175th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 153rd to 191st allowing for scoring error, in the Weak band (25 to 44). Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026.
Doctors, hospitals and insurers decide. No right is above the typical country. The closest is your say over research use (46 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country). The furthest behind is protection from sale and ads (22 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country).
Sierra Leone has no data protection law yet, so patient rights rest on a health ministry policy while most clinics still keep paper records.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Weak band, 25 to 44
27/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 153rd to 191st, allowing for scoring error
Low confidence. Thin evidence on 4 of the 8 rights: your copy, who sees it, sale and ads and doctors see it. The evidence grade rates all our sources together; confidence looks at each right. Neither changes the score.
Questions people ask
Can I see my health record in Sierra Leone?
In 2026, getting your full record scores 32 out of 100 in Sierra Leone; the typical country scores 40 to 45. No health law gives patients a right to a copy of their record. The Right to Access Information Act 2013 lets anyone request information from public bodies within 15 working days, but whether hospitals honour it for medical records is not verified. Source: sierra-leone.org, October 31, 2013, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Sierra Leone?
In 2026, doctors, hospitals and insurers hold the keys to your health record in Sierra Leone. Control over who sees it scores 25 out of 100 in Sierra Leone; the typical country scores 30. The 2007 HIV Act requires written consent to disclose an HIV test result, and a 2021 ministry policy asks for written consent before sharing with third parties. There is no opt-out or access log, and the data terms of a December 2025 US health MOU are unpublished. Source: sierra-leone.org, 2007, and the other sources below.
How does Sierra Leone compare?
In 2026, Sierra Leone scores 27 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Liberia (26 out of 100), Namibia (26 out of 100) and South Sudan (25 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Liberia, Namibia, South Sudan and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
32
28 · 28 · 34
Control over who sees it20%
25
25 · 25 · 24
Privacy and security15%
28
32 · 28 · 22
One record across your care15%
24
22 · 25 · 20
Protection from sale and ads10%
22
25 · 18 · 20
Doctors see it when treating you10%
17
15 · 22 · 18
Your say over research use5%
46
46 · 43 · 43
Rules for AI in your care5%
22
25 · 20 · 20
Black dot: Sierra Leone. Hollow dots: Liberia, Namibia, South Sudan (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Sierra Leone 27 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Sierra Leone need to change to score higher?
Sierra Leone sits in Weak (25 to 44); Mixed starts at 45. Its two weakest rights, compared with the typical country and weighted by how much each counts, are privacy and security (28 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country) and protection from sale and ads (22 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
Privacy and security: A health data regulator that is independent and actually acts: it decides cases about health records, breaches must be reported, and fines are applied.
Protection from sale and ads: Clear limits on selling health data or using it for ads, covering apps and data brokers as well as doctors and hospitals.
Which laws give health record rights in Sierra Leone?
Right to Access Information Act, 2013: Right to information held by public bodies within 15 working days; cost-based fees allowed.
Prevention and Control of HIV and AIDS Act, 2007: Confidential HIV results, written consent for disclosure and research, no forced testing for insurance.
Data Protection and Right to Access Information Bill, 2025 (pending): First data protection law; one authority for privacy and information access. Approved by Cabinet, not enacted.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
1.3 2022
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
11.6 2022
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
54.8% 2023
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
We found no real cases published in the last two years.
In 2026, Sierra Leone scored 27 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 175th of 198 countries and territories (could be 153rd to 191st), in the Weak band. Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/sierra-leone/
The 18 sources for Sierra Leone
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (4 sources)
“The Right to Access Information Act, 2013”
sierra-leone.org (law or regulation) · Title in English
Dated October 31, 2013 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/sierra-leone/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
