News & Analysis: Liberia
“With makeshift masks on, one by one, they walk to the food distribution counter and are presented a plate of food and a sachet of water. The Honorary Consul General of India in Liberia, Upjit Singh Sachdeva, has been doing this for more than a hundred consecutive days, in some of the most impecunious communities of the Liberian capital, Monrovia.”
“This year, the coronavirus pandemic has forced governments to grapple with difficult questions regarding lockdowns, contact tracing and the provision of emergency financial assistance to citizens now without work. In developing countries, these hardships are magnified with the World Bank estimating that remittances – money transfers sent from foreign workers to their home countries – to low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are projected to fall by 19.7 percent (from $554 billion in 2019 to $445 billion in 2020). Considering the significant role that remittances play in alleviating poverty and improving nutrition, many governments have turned to mobile cash transfers for vulnerable citizens to use while minimising COVID-19 exposure.”
“The African Development Bank’s Board of Directors on Friday approved a UA 38.15 million ($53.25 million) multi-country grant to The Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone in the form of direct budget support to bolster efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in the three West African countries.”
“Liberia’s General Auditing Commission has vowed to audit income and expenditure directed to the fight against the virus to ensure accountability and transparency of public resources.”
“On the occasion of the celebration of International Justice Day, the human rights community in Liberia has called on the government not to use COVID-19 as an excuse for not meeting up with its national and international human rights obligations, with reference to the increase in sexual gender-based violence and the implementation of the United Nations Human Rights Committee Concluding Observations of Liberia.”
“Communities for whom the devastation of the Ebola outbreak was still fresh feared what might happen if COVID-19 reached their countries.”
“The Statutory Superintendent of the Saclapea Statutory District, Mr. Arthur Gonkartee Sahn, confirmed the surge on the local radio station in Saclapea, adding that the local authority is concerned and they are organizing stakeholder coordination meeting for immediate action to stop the spread.”
“For weeks now, many have been quietly concerned that Liberia had been under-reporting the number of COVID-19 cases. However, over the past few days, the rapid rise in the number of positive tests have triggered a wave of reactions with many laying the blame squarely on emerging differences between the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National Public Health Institute.”
“The coronavirus pandemic has tightened its grip on much of Africa, where reported cases have more than tripled over the last month, jeopardizing overstretched medical teams as the need for care soars.”
“While the macroeconomic situation is set to affect prosperity at all levels of society, poor urban households participating in the informal economy are likely to be hit the hardest, with immediate concerns surrounding their ability to provide for themselves.”
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