Developing countries lose out to the tax dodgers

Tax dodging doesn't just mean less money for governments. It means less money for ordinary people who rely on government services - like education and healthcare.

In a country like Sierra Leone, this can mean the difference between life and death. In the UK, a woman’s lifetime risk of death during childbirth is one in 3,800. In Sierra Leone it’s 1 in 7.

Mary's story

Mary Kamara lives in Kola Tree, a poor community in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown. She has been trained by ActionAid as a birth attendant.

"A lot of women were dying when births went wrong – I saw friends and neighbours die. I made up my mind to get training and help save their lives. Before, when there were problems, we had to take the woman in a hammock to the hospital, which meant four people carrying her for at least a mile to a taxi, then another three miles in the car. It cost more money than people could afford. Now, when a woman delivers, I am there and can ensure there is no problem".

Eighty per cent of maternal deaths could be prevented by a skilled birth assistant. Yet trained health workers attend just one third of births in the poorest countries.

Governments in developing countries such as Sierra Leone lose a total of $160 billion in public revenue because multinational companies don’t pay the taxes they owe. If Sierra Leone’s government had more money to train women like Mary, they could save thousands of lives.