World Bank backs out from funding Sierra Leone census

FILE PHOTO: A participant stands near a logo of World Bank at the International Monetary Fund - World Bank Annual Meeting 2018 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, October 12, 2018. REUTERS/Johannes P. Christo/File Photo

FREETOWN (Reuters) - The World Bank has withdrawn its support for a population and housing census in Sierra Leone just days before it was due to begin, according to a letter from the Bank addressed to Sierra Leone's finance minister.

President Julius Maada Bio last week announced that the national statistics office would launch a two-week mid-term census on Dec. 10 to correct "anomalies" from the last count in 2015, which the previous administration used to justify creating additional districts in its strongholds.