On Valentine’s Day 2026, a newborn weighing just 3.79 pounds became the first baby delivered at Sierra Leone’s new Maternal Center of Excellence. The hospital’s NICU was largely funded by creators Hank and John Green and their online community, who raised about $50 million.
KEY FACTS:
- The Paul E. Farmer Maternal Center of Excellence (MCOE) officially opened Feb. 14, 2026, housing Sierra Leone’s first-ever neonatal intensive care unit.
- The baby girl was delivered at 2:13 p.m. on opening day, weighing 1.72 kg (about 3.79 pounds), and immediately received specialized NICU care.
- Authors and online creators Hank and John Green, along with their community of supporters, raised about $50 million to fund the project.
- Sierra Leone had a maternal mortality rate of 1 in 52 women in 2020, compared to 1 in 3,800 in the U.S. and 1 in 5,200 in the U.K., according to Partners In Health.
- The facility includes 166 beds, expanded maternal and newborn services, high-level emergency care, and about 200 trained clinical staff including 51 midwives.
Why This Hospital Matters
Sierra Leone has historically had one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.
Those numbers are primarily a result of the country’s 11-year civil war and a broken health system with diminishing maternal care, per Partners In Health.
Before the MCOE, Sierra Leone had no NICU – no unit specifically designed to care for premature or critically ill newborns needing immediate, specialized medical attention. The new center expands upon a previous 48-bed maternal ward.
The center was built in partnership with Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health and Partners In Health.
It builds upon the country’s efforts over the past decade to improve maternal health care, which has included a blood bank and pharmacy next to the existing maternal ward.
How Hank and John Green Raised $50 Million
John Green is the author behind The Fault In Our Stars. Hank Green is the author of New York Times best sellers An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and its sequel A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor.
Their YouTube channel Vlogbrothers has more than 4 million subscribers.
The brothers funded the MCOE through their businesses, including Good Store and Awesome Socks Club, as well as donations and their annual Project for Awesome charity livestream.
Their community of supporters, known as “Nerdfighteria,” contributed significantly.
“This has been a six-year journey for our community, raising $50 million, working with the Sierra Leonean government and Partners in Health Sierra Leone to build the staff, stuff, space, and systems necessary to provide good, dignified care,” John Green said in an announcement video.
Despite the scale of their contribution, John Green redirected credit.
“I’d love to present us as the heroes of this story, but the truth is, the folks in Sierra Leone who actually built the hospital, who actually provide the care, who do the training for the nurses and midwives and traditional birth attendants, those are the people who really made this possible,” John said.
What the Ministry of Health Said
“The Ministry of Health and Partners In Health proudly celebrate this remarkable milestone and look forward to many more successes as we continue strengthening healthcare delivery across Sierra Leone. Together, we are advancing safer motherhood and giving every newborn a stronger start to life,” the Ministry of Health wrote on Facebook.
The MCOE project broke ground in 2021.
The brothers’ work in global health has earned them a place on the TIME100 Health 2026 list. They plan to continue supporting maternal health efforts in Sierra Leone beyond the opening of the center.
In a country where 1 in 52 women died during pregnancy or childbirth as recently as 2020, Sierra Leone now has its first NICU and a 166-bed maternal care facility. And a baby girl born on opening day received care that simply did not exist there before.
Source: Hank and John Green’s global community raises $50M to open first NICU in Sierra Leone