Liberia
Context
Liberia is Africa's oldest republic. It became better known in the 1990s for its long-running civil war and its role in a rebellion in neighbouring Sierra Leone. Around 250,000 people were killed in Liberia's civil war and many thousands more fled the fighting.
The conflict left the country in economic ruin and overrun with weapons. The capital remains without mains electricity and running water. Corruption is rife and unemployment and illiteracy are endemic.
Liberia's President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has agreed to be a water, sanitation and hygiene ambassador for WaterAid and we are confident that this will help to establish our presence in country.
WaterAid's plans
- As Liberia is a post-conflict country we will generate experience of building capacity to deliver sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene services in countries that are moving from humanitarian relief to a development focus.
- We have already started supporting the local development plan process in Grand Kru, Maryland and River Gee, the three districts in which we will be working. These areas are felt to be the most marginalised areas, under-served in water and sanitation and least likely to be served through the efforts of government and other agencies. The focus of our work will be around Community-led Total Sanitation and the Local Millennium Development Goals Initiative.
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Liberia Sources:
World Bank (2011) World Development Indicators database - databank.worldbank.org, WHO / UNICEF (2010) Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report 2010, UNDP (2011), Human Development Report 2011 NB. Official statistics tend to understate the extent of water and sanitation problems, sometimes by a large factor. There are not sufficient resources available for accurate monitoring of either population or coverage. Varying definitions of water and sanitation coverage are used and national figures mask large regional differences in coverage.
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What we do
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