Similar findings in an investigation in Liberia suggests the practice may be happening across the West Africa By Jennifer Ambolley in collaboration with New Narratives Summary: ● More than seven in 10 women surveyed by The Chronicle in Greater Accra said they take antibiotics every month, in the mistaken belief the drugs “clean” their bodies after menstruation…
A woman named Saybah Kollie died after undergoing surgery at Stockton Creek Health Center in Caldwell, where a man posing as a doctor operated on her without any medical qualifications. Despite being asked to provide a license in 2022, the Liberia Medical and Dental Council failed to stop him from practicing, exposing Liberians to grave…
By Tetee Gebro, health and gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary CALDWELL, Monrovia — Saybah Kollie collapsed on a Sunday morning in early April, two days after her son’s second birthday. Her husband, Blama Kamara, and the community chairman rushed her to the closest clinic. Over the next few weeks, Saybah’s family said, she suffered at…
By Tetee Gebro, gender and health correspondent with New Narratives Summary MOUNT BARCLAY, Montserrado County — Victoria remembers the moment when her joy at delivering a baby girl turned to fear. The baby came early, at Victoria’s home. She did not cry. The midwife turned her upside down, trying everything to get a sound out of her….
Liberia’s Sexual and Reproductive Rights Coalition has spent five years shifting public attitudes, training young people, and building support for reproductive health. Despite these achievements, the coalition’s central demand—the inclusion of abortion access in the stalled Public Health Bill—remains unresolved due to Senate delays, leaving women vulnerable and pushing activists to call for stronger local…
By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Five years ago, organizations working on sexual and reproductive health across Liberia reached the same conclusion: acting alone was not enough. With funding from the Swedish government, they formed the Amplifying Rights Network, a coalition that has since trained community leaders, mobilized thousands of citizens, and…
Liberia’s new five‑year, US$124 million health compact with the U.S. is drawing sharp scrutiny as other African nations reject similar deals over concerns about data sovereignty, specimen sharing, and funding obligations. Civil society groups warn that the agreement could give U.S. entities long‑term access to sensitive health information without adequate safeguards, while shifting financial burdens…
For most families, the birth of a child is a moment of joy and anticipation. But when complications arise, that joy can quickly turn into tragedy.Across Liberia, patients and health workers say the inability to pay emergency care costs are leading to death and injury for mothers and babies.As Fatu Kamara reports in this collaboration…
By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Ghana has become the third African country to reject a proposed U.S. health agreement, with government officials saying the deal would have given U.S. entities broad access to sensitive national health data, including metadata and analytical tools, without sufficient safeguards or prior approval. The deal included provisions that…
A measles outbreak struck Kiangia Town in January, moving silently from home to home before families realized what was happening. With clinics closed or lacking medicine, parents and grandparents relied on traditional remedies like leaves, honey, and alcohol, which experts say offered no protection. One child, Samuel, just four years old, died, while others suffered…
Liberia’s Inter-Religious Council, the umbrella body representing the country’s major Christian and Muslim institutions, is urging lawmakers to pass a stalled health bill that would expand access to abortion in certain cases, breaking with years of opposition to the measure by religious leaders. Supporters say the bill is needed to reduce deaths and injuries from…
By Tetee Gebro and Joyclyn Wea, gender and health correspondents with New Narratives Summary KIANGIA TOWN, Todee District — The measles came to this town in January. Nobody announced it. Nobody warned families here. It moved quietly from home to home, the way measles does — through the air, between children playing; spreading before anyone understood…
By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: In a major boost to efforts to pass a health bill that would expand access to abortion in Liberia, the Inter-Religious Council, the umbrella body representing the country’s major Christian and Muslim institutions, has called on lawmakers to pass the legislation, breaking with years of religious…
Thousands of Liberian women suffer silently from obstetric fistula, a preventable childbirth injury that leaves them leaking urine or feces for years, often in isolation, because maternal health care in Liberia lags decades behind. Despite the fact that 80% of cases could be prevented with timely medical care, limited facilities, poor referral systems, and lack…
In Liberia, many schoolgirls are forced to cut baby diapers in half or use cloth during their periods because sanitary pads are taxed at 30 percent, making them unaffordable. While Ghana has already taken bold steps to provide free pads to schoolgirls, Liberia’s proposed bill to remove taxes on menstrual products remains stalled in committee,…
By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: CESTOS CITY, River Cess County — W. knows what to do when her period comes, and there is no money for pads. She buys baby diapers. We are calling all the girls in the story by their initials to prevent them from further stigma and shame….
By Augusta S. Lafalay with New Narratives Summary: For fourteen years, S. said she woke up every morning to wet and smelly sheets. She had no name for what was wrong with her. She had no doctor to visit, no clinic that could help. All she had was shame — and silence. It started with…
Across Liberia, nine out of ten young people grow up without basic sex education, leaving girls vulnerable to teenage pregnancy, unsafe abortions, and poverty. A recent investigation highlights stories like Benetta’s, who became pregnant at 17 without knowing how pregnancy occurs, and Mamia’s, who dropped out of school after early motherhood. With one in three…
By Tetee Gebro, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: BENSONVILLE, Montserrado — Benetta was 17 when she first became pregnant. No one had ever explained sex, contraception, or how pregnancy happens to her. People in her community started talking and urged her to visit a clinic. A nurse told her she would be a mother…
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…
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…
