Liberia

Liberia suffered greatly during the 14 year civil war that tore the country apart. Despite the formal end of hostilities with the Accra Peace Agreement of 2003, the effects of this protracted, devastating conflict can still be seen today as Liberians grapple with a legacy of destroyed infrastructure, widespread poverty, very poor living conditions. 

Because of the country’s low agricultural production and poor household incomes, Liberia has suffered from chronic food insecurity since the civil war. Healthcare systems are also struggling to recover and the Ebola epidemic of 2014 proved that the system was still too weak. Chronic malnutrition at 32 percent is among the highest in the world. Finally, a decline in funding has reduced NGO resources, slowing down the country’s recovery.

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Liberia, a coastal country in West Africa with 4.61 million inhabitants is one of the least developed countries in the world. More than half of the population lives in poverty. The Ebola epidemic precipitated a prolonged economic crisis, which in turn created serious political and social tensions in 2019. Currently, 38.4% of the population is food insecure, 25% of the population does not have access to drinking water, and just 17% have access to basic health services. Although HIV and Ebola prevalence rates have declined, diarrheal diseases remain the second largest cause of death for children under five.

In 2019, Action Against Hunger's team in Liberia screened and treated malnutrition in women and children in 8 of Liberia's 15 counties, and worked to improve their nutrition status through interventions at health centers and in communities. In partnership with the Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Alliance in Liberia (SUNCSAL), Action Against Hunger also continued our nutrition advocacy work at local and national levels.

Our team also worked to improve access to clean water and safe sanitation and to prevent the spread of disease in rural areas of Montserrado through a number of activities, including building wells and latrines in schools.