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. One of the poorest countries in the world, 83.8 percent of Liberia's population lives below the poverty line ($1.25 per day) and 94 percent of workers are poor (living on less than $2 per day).

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.

Liberia, a coastal country in West Africa with 4.61 million inhabitants, a quarter of which live in the capital Monrovia, is one of the least developed countries in the world. It ranks 181 out of 189 countries globally in the Human Development Index 2018. It is also one of the poorest countries in the world, with about 64% of the population living on less than a dollar a day. 

The end of the Ebola epidemic was officially announced in 2018 by the World Health Organisation, while the economy, which was greatly impacted during the epidemic, is still struggling to recover. The country has entered a recession, with an inflation rate reaching 28% at the end of 2018. Chronic malnutrition remains a persistent public health problem in Liberia.

In 2018, together with the Ministry of Health, we work to improve nutrition security of the population. We set up trainings in infant and young child feeding and management of undernutrition for health professionals. 

We created and trained 35 mother-to-mother support groups to promote improved infant and young child feeding and care practices in communities. We implemented water, sanitation and hygiene interventions. 

After flooding affected seven communities in Montserrado County, we rehabilitated and disinfected water points, distributed hygiene kits, raised the latrines, sanitised septic tanks and cleaned the wastewater evacuation channels