Monrovia, Liberia – 107,000 teenage girls in Liberia is said to benefit from a five-year, US$7 million project jointly sponsored by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The program, which is being funded by a US$7 million grant from the Government of Ireland, will tackle important issues that girls face, such as high rates of adolescent pregnancy, undernourishment, and restricted access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Three counties—Montserrado, Grand Gedeh, and River Cess—will be the center of the initiative, which runs from November 2024 to December 2029.
The US$7 million project is to provide secure and welcoming environments where teenage girls, particularly the most marginalized and at risk, may obtain nutrition and sexual and reproductive health services, develop their leadership abilities, and thrive without facing prejudice.
“I call on all of us, government institutions, development partners, civil society, the private sector, traditional and religious leaders, parents, and young people themselves to join hands to build a future where every adolescent girl is safe, confident, informed, and equipped to lead,” said Madam Christine Umutoni, UN Resident Coordinator to Liberia. The UN is dedicated to collaborating with all parties involved to achieve the objective, she said.
Ireland’s commitment was also reinforced by Neale Richmond, Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Republic of Ireland, who said that teenage girls in Liberia should have access to food security and nutrition as well as sexual and reproductive health and rights.
We are investing in their futures through this initiative by addressing structural issues such as undernourishment, child marriage, and restricted access to SRHR. “This initiative is in line with Ireland’s commitment to gender equality and making sure no girl is left behind,” he stated.
Leonard Kamugisha, UNFPA Officer in Charge, provided an overview of the program and discussed the significance of collaborative scale-up strategies to better the circumstances of teenage females.
Similarly, Mr. Andy Brooks, UNICEF’s Country Representative, emphasized the importance of addressing anemia as part of initiatives to lower the number of high-risk pregnancies and stunting rates in children. He explained, “The growth and development of the girl child is undermined by our high teenage pregnancy rate of 30%.”
Dr. Louise M. Kpoto, the Minister of Health for Liberia, clarified that the Ministry of Health is prepared to assist the Program in achieving its objectives to enhance the nutrition and SRHR outcomes for teenage girls in Liberia.
The program’s two main components are Food Security and Nutrition and Health-Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). Through schools, medical institutions, and community outreach initiatives, the SRHR will concentrate on strengthening institutional capacity to provide adolescent responsive SRHR services.
In contrast, Food Security and Nutrition will increase institutional capabilities to increase adolescent girls’ access to food security and nutrition by combining facility-based and community-based nutrition services to increase the coverage of nutrition interventions.
In order to guarantee the availability of disaggregated data on adolescent nutrition, the initiative will also assist the national data system.
Along with the two pillars, the program will also focus on the leadership and participation of adolescent girls as a cross-cutting theme. This will be achieved by actively encouraging the involvement, leadership, and empowerment of diverse adolescent girls, including those who are marginalized and vulnerable, so that they can effect change and have an impact on pertinent policies.
Additionally, the initiative will engage with boys and men to change societal norms that support gender disparity.
Reported by: Prince Saah
Contact: +231778239813
Email: saahprince119@gmail.com
