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ADNews-Monrovia: Liberia’s Finance Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan and Deputy Minister for Economic Management Dephue Zuo met with the Diplomatic Corps, led by UN Resident Coordinator Christine N. Umutoni, to discuss the impact of the USAID aid freeze and measures the government is implementing to address the situation. UN Resident Coordinator Ms. Umutoni presided over the meeting.
The meeting was also attended by the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Cameroonian Ambassador Augustine Gang, as well as the Ambasadors of the US, EU, Germany, Nigeria and Ghana, among many others.
The aid cut/freeze presents a significant challenge for Liberia, which depends on international aid for development.
Deputy Minister Zuo highlighted the growing effects of the freeze, while Hon. Ngafuan emphasized the need for continued partnerships with international donors.
Finance Minister Ngafuan expressed confidence that Liberia will overcome this challenge, citing past crises like the 2008/2009 global food, fuel and financial crisis, the Ebola outbreak, and the COVID-19 pandemic. He stressed that strong support from Liberia’s bilateral and multilateral partners was key in enabling Liberia to address those crises. He noted that expenditure rationalization and robust domestic resource mobilization are the key measures the government is implementing to address the crises. He informed the partners that as the situation evolves, the government will be taking further proactive and reactive measures to mitigate the impact of the shock.
Minister Ngafuan stated that the government will be intervening to continue some critical interventions in health and education that the USAID aid cut will affect and called on scale-up support from other partners to assist or complement the government’s response.
The Diplomatic Corps, including Ambasadors from Cameroon, Nigeria, the EU, Germany, the UK, and UN Women, reaffirmed their support for Liberia during this difficult time During the meeting, the European Union Ambassador announced that the EU would provide support to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to observe the Nimba By-election. Support to election observation in Liberia was one of the areas of USAID support for Liberia, which has been affected by President Trump’s recent aid cut.
Finally, the Ambassadors asserted that their countries will stand with Liberia in thick and thin.
In his concluding statement, Minister Ngafuan informed the meeting that the government will provide further updates to partners in the coming weeks and that the government, with support from the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office and UNDP, is planning a Partners Roundtable at the end of March 2025 to further discuss the USAID aid and support to the ARREST AGENDA for Inclusive Development (AAID).
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