Journalism Archives - New Narratives

Groundbreaking investigation exposes the corruption that is paralyzing Liberia’s police and courts and allowing human traffickers to ensnare thousands of poor citizens

Promises of jobs in Canada and Australia have lured hundreds of people into the hands of human traffickers in Liberia. But fair trials for those affected have been elusive. A months-long New Narratives investigation detailed bribe payments that more than 50 victims said had protected their traffickers from prosecution. Delays have meant that the accused traffickers could walk free….

Liberia’s Market Women Bear the Brunt of Price Surge Driven By Iran Conflict

By Tetee Gebro, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: WATERSIDE MARKET, Monrovia – Bessy Toe sat behind small piles of sugar, flour and milk here one day recently, watching the hours pass. Business used to move, she said. Now, goods stay too long on the table, and sometimes they must be sold at a loss to…

Tetee Gebro
Front Page Africa

Liberia’s Market Women Bear the Brunt of Price Surge Driven By Iran Conflict

Liberia’s market women say the Iran conflict has driven up fuel and import costs, leaving them with slow sales, spoiled goods, and families cutting back on meals just to cope with the rising prices. Tetee Gebro reports in this social media Video. To read more about this story click this link: Liberia’s Market Women Bear…

Tetee Gebro
Video

Inside Accra’s Mallam Market, traders breathe pollution twelve times higher than safe limits, but many don’t know the risks.

By Clankson Acheampong MALLAM MARKET, Accra – By 7:30 a.m., Gladys Ahugah has already arranged her onions, ginger and garlic neatly on a wooden table under the scorching sun here at Accra’s biggest food market. Behind her, a pepper grinding mill roars to life. Dust rises. Vehicles crawl past on the busy Mallam-Kasoa road, releasing…

Clankson Acheampong
Asaase The Voice of Our Land

After Mob Attack, Red Cross Begins Rebuilding Destroyed Rivercess Village — But Fear, Hunger and Insecurity Persist

The Red Cross has started rebuilding homes in Bethel Town, River Cess County after the mob attack that destroyed much of the community, but residents continue to struggle with hunger, lack of clean water, and insecurity. While the new houses bring hope, families say their most urgent needs remain unmet, leaving recovery fragile and incomplete….

Eric Opa Doue
Video

Ghana’s six invisible killers — Why the poorest pedestrians pay the highest health price

BY KINGSLEY E. HOPE KEJETIA MARKET, Kumasi — Akosua Frimpong arrives at this busy central market before dawn. By 6am, she has arranged her foodstuffs on the median strip — tomatoes, onions, yams, okra, garden eggs — hawking them to pedestrians and drivers passing by. By evening, she will have stood there 14 hours, breathing…

Kingsley E. Hope
Ghanaian Times

Belgian Court Orders War Crimes Trial for Martina Johnson, a Key Ally of Warlord-Turned President Charles Taylor, After Decade-Long Investigation

A Belgian court has ordered a former commander in Liberia’s civil war to stand trial for allegedwar crimes committed more than three decades ago. The suspect is Martina Johnson, a key ally of former Liberian warlord-turned-president CharlesTaylor. Prosecutors say she took part in killings and mutilations during one of the war’s most violentoffensives. New Narratives’…

Anthony Stephens
Radio

After Mob Attack, Red Cross Begins Rebuilding Destroyed Rivercess Village — But Fear, Hunger and Insecurity Persist

In River Cess County, residents of Bethel Town are beginning to rebuild after a vigilante mob attack destroyed much of their community last month. But while new homes are taking shape, families say they are still struggling with hunger, lack of clean water, and fears of another attack. In this collaboration with Ok FM and…

Eric Opa Doue
Radio

National ID Card Rollout Continues to Be Held Up by $1.7 Million Unpaid Government Debt

Seven months after President Joseph Boakai halted Liberia’s national ID rollout to fix problemsin the system, the program is still not running. Officials say the country cannot access itsbiometric database because the government owes 1.7 million dollars to the company that built it. The delay means millions of Liberians remain outside the system. Tetee Gebro…

Tetee Gebro
Radio

Experts Say Electric Vehicles Are The Future But Rollout In Liberia Faces Challenges; A New Policy May Change That

In Monrovia, Liberia, a quiet shift is underway on the country’s roads — one that could reshape how people move, and how the nation powers its future. You need to mention what the story is about in the intro and include the news hook – that is what makes the story most interesting to listeners….

Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon
Radio

After Mob Attack, Red Cross Begins Rebuilding Destroyed Rivercess Village — But Fear, Hunger and Insecurity Persist

By Eric Opa Doue with New Narratives BETHEL, River Cess County — On a recent humid morning here, the sound of shovels breaking earth has returned for the first time since a mob burned nearly the entire community last month. This time, the digging is not for destruction — but for rebuilding. Workers and residents have begun…

Eric Opa Doue
Frontpage Africa

Nine Out of Every Ten Women Take Antibiotic Every Month a Survey Finds: Experts Describe Findings as ‘Catastrophic’ For All Liberians

A new survey shows 9 out of 10 Liberian women take antibiotics monthly after their period—often without prescriptions. Experts call the practice catastrophic, warning it fuels antibiotic resistance and threatens public health nationwide. Gloria Wleh reports in this social media Video. To read more about this story click this link: Liberia: Nine Out of Every…

Gloria Wleh
Video

Experts Say Electric Vehicles Are The Future But Rollout In Liberia Faces Challenges; A New Policy May Change That

Electric vehicles are slowly appearing on Liberia’s roads, but experts warn the country risks falling behind without clear policies and infrastructure. The government is now drafting its first zero-emission vehicle policy to attract investment, cut pollution, and reduce dependence on imported fuel. With plans for tax breaks, charging stations, and safety standards, advocates say the…

Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon
Video

Tightens Controls on Abortion Drug — But Women’s Groups Warn Against Blocking Access to Care

Liberia has restricted misoprostol sales to prescriptions only, citing safety concerns. But women’s groups warn that tighter controls could worsen maternal deaths in a country already facing one of the world’s highest rates. Over 38,000 pregnancies ended in abortion in 2021—most with serious complications. Joyclyn Wea reports in this social media Video. To read more…

Joyclyn Wea
Video

Nine Out of Every Ten Women Take Antibiotic Every Month a Survey Finds: Experts Describe Findings as ‘Catastrophic’ For All Liberians

By Gloria Wleh with New Narratives Summary: DUAZON, Margibi County — On a recent weekday, L. had just ended her four days of monthly menstruation. The next day the 18-year-old walked into a small drug store beside the main road here as she does every month. With no prescription, she asked the drug dispenser for…

Gloria Wleh
Frontpage Africa

Liberia’s Empty Harvest: How Gambling Is Draining the Labor from Rural Farms

By Joseph Titus Yekeryan with New Narratives NEGBAN, Bong County – The vegetable and lowland rice field behind the Yan family home here should be alive with movement this time of year: young men clearing brush; laughter rising above the steady rhythm of hoes striking soil, and seedlings lined in careful rows. Instead, the field…

Joseph Titus Yekeryan
Frontpage Africa

Experts Say Electric Vehicles Are The Future But Rollout In Liberia Faces Challenges; A New Policy May Change That

By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, New Narratives climate correspondent On the busy roads of this capital city, something is changing. Alongside the old pickup trucks and exhaust-spewing taxis, a quieter kind of vehicle has appeared: electric cars, motorcycles and three-wheeled tricycles that hum instead of roar. They charge on electricity instead of burning gasoline and leave…

Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon
Frontpage Africa

Liberia’s Anti-Corruption Watchdog Asked Liberians to Report Corruption By Putting Allegations in Boxes – It Didn’t Work

Liberia is testing new ways for citizens to report corruption. One idea was simple: drop acomplaint in a locked box and walk away. But it didn’t work. The results show Liberians aretoo afraid to report corruption.Corruption watchdogs hope a new app will solve the problem. But, as with so many otherthings in Liberia, it needs…

Joyclyn Wea
Radio

Victims and Advocates Angry As Government Stays Silent Over Bribery Allegations in Country’s Biggest Human Trafficking Case as Suspects’ Release Date Nears

In Liberia, victims and human rights advocates are expressing anger over the government’s silence in the country’s largest human trafficking case — as suspects move closer to possible release.The case involves more than fifty victims and allegations of bribery within the justice system. It is one of a growing number of human trafficking cases –…

Anthony Stephens
Radio

Leading War Crimes Investigator’s Office Attacked As Threats Against Witnesses, Investigators Escalate

Armed men have broken into the offices of Liberia’s leading organization investigating civil warcrimes. Activists say it’s the latest in a series of threats against victims, witnesses and investigatorslinked to efforts to bring perpetrators to justice. Human rights groups are urging the government to strengthen protection as Liberia moves closerto establishing a war crimes court….

Anthony Stephens
Radio

Tightens Controls on Abortion Drug — But Women’s Groups Warn Against Blocking Access to Care

By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Liberian women’s health advocates have cautiously welcomed a government announcement that it is going to more closely regulate Misoprostol, a drug widely used to cause a medical abortion or to provide care for women facing life-threatening conditions during and after pregnancy. But they warn that the…

Joyciyn Wea
Frontpage Africa