Between 2004 and 2007 the government of Sierra Leone embarked on a series of reform programmes for a number of ministries to promote good governance in the management of the public services and to improve on the efficient delivery of social services to the population. With the restoration of the decentralization process in 2004, government requested a further review to assess the impact of the Local Government Act of 2004 and the implementation of the devolution process in selected ministries.

The Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs is one among the ministries for which the Management and Functional Review was done.  MSWGCA has had a chequered history of changing names, adding responsibilities and new functions and being managed from two separate locations and under two different management arrangements. Funded by DfID and spearheaded by the Governance Reform Secretariat, the Report of the Management and Functional Review for the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs outlined the status quo, identified several lapses and overlaps in functions and mandates, obsolete regulations that marred effective administration and management.