Summary: · Health experts are urging swift regulatory approval for “Coartem Baby”, a groundbreaking new malaria drug for infants under six months, warning delays could cost lives. · Liberia continues to battle one of Africa’s highest malaria burdens, with nearly one million cases and an estimated 3,500 deaths in 2023 — most among children under…
Health and Education
Doctors Warn Rampant Abuse of Anti-Microbial Drugs Is Creating Superbugs That Are Killing Thousands and Leaving Sick People Defenseless
Medical Experts are raising a warning saying more and more people are staying sick because the medicines meant to kill harmful germs that cause malaria, diarrhea and other dangerous illnesses —aren’t working anymore.The reason? Many Liberians are using antibiotics and other powerful drugs the wrong way, and that misuse is making these medicines weaker and…
As Senate Considers Bill to Legalize Abortion, Experts Say Growing Access to Abortion Pills Is Saving Lives
Liberia is debating a bill that would allow abortion up to 14 weeks—a change experts say could put the country among the most liberal in sub-Saharan Africa.The House of Representatives approved the bill in 2022, but it’s stalled in the Senate.As Joyclyn Wea finds in this collaboration with New Narratives, the delay has left many…
Rural Liberian Clinic Gets Overhaul After Investigation Exposed Maternal Health Crisis
After a FrontPage/New Narratives investigation exposed deadly conditions for women giving birth at a rural clinic in Arthington, that facility has now been overhauled with a new maternity ward, improved water and sanitation, and medical equipment thanks to external funding, offering a rare bright spot in Liberia’s ongoing maternal health crisis even as gaps like…
Doctors Warn that Rampant Abuse of Anti-Microbial Drugs Is Creating Superbugs That Are Killing Thousands and Leaving Sick People Defenseless
By Gloria Wleh with New Narratives Summary: • Many Liberians are misusing antibiotics, antiparasitic, antifungal and antiviral drugs without prescriptions, creating what experts call “superbugs” – infections that are resistant to commonly available drugs. • Families are spending hundreds of U.S. dollars on ineffective treatments as superbugs lead to prolonged illnesses and hospital stays, with…
As Senate Considers Bill to Legalize Abortion, Experts Say Growing Access to Abortion Pills Is Saving Lives
By Joyclyn Wea, senior reporter with New Narratives D. was 18 and had just entered the 12th grade in 2017 when she discovered she was pregnant. Like all teenage students, ambitious for a successful future – in her case as a banker – she feared having a baby would end her dreams. She also feared…
‘I Smile in Public and Die Inside’; New Mothers Suffer Alone With A Condition That Devastates Families
By Augusta S. Lafalay with New Narratives Summary: · Liberian mothers face a hidden postpartum depression crisis, with cultural stigma, spiritual beliefs, and lack of diagnosis leaving many to suffer in silence. · Experts warn that inadequate screening and minimal funding are undermining maternal mental health, destabilizing families and worsening outcomes for children. · Survivors…
Crisis in Rural Education Continues to End Children’s Dreams
In rural Liberia, Nancy Howard’s dream of journalism faded after 9th grade. With no local school, she turned to farming—now 25, a mother of three, working her family’s sugarcane field….
Bridge Accused Of Conflict Of Interest, Lack of Accountability Running Liberian Schools; Company Denies Allegations
A report accuses Bridge International Academies of financial opacity and conflicts of interest in Liberia’s education system. Former officials’ involvement sparks outrage as stakeholders demand audits, reforms, and greater transparency….
Maternal Waiting Homes In Rural Areas Lack Basic Necessities Putting Lives of Mothers and Babies at Risk
When Amelia Nyanamah entered the eighth month of her pregnancy her village midwife advised her to go to the nearby maternal waiting home for a safer delivery. The 38-year-old mother of four had already made the arduous 10-kilometer trip by foot from her remote village to the Lugbeyee Clinic waiting room when she gave birth to her fourth child in 2020. She thought she knew what to expect….
Health Authorities Prepare for Deadly Mpox Strain
Countries across Africa are on guard as a more severe strain of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, has killed 1000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and sickened more than 30,000….
Liberia Avoids the Deadly Mpox Strain for Now but Health Care Workers Say They Need More Supplies
Junior cries to his mother as another stranger approaches the front of their house. The two-year-old has met too many new people since he came down with mpox in August….
Parents of Kids with Undiagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorder Battle with Little Support
Having a child is a time of profound joy for most mothers, and so it was for Anita when told she had given birth to a girl who she named Maureen. But Anita’s dream of living happily together with her family fell apart when she learned that her child had autism spectrum disorder, a neurological condition that affects communication, social interactions, and behavior….
10,000 Mpox Vaccine Doses on the Way to Liberia
Liberia is set to receive 10,000 doses of the mpox vaccine to help protect the country from the outbreak which has claimed at least 1,000 lives worldwide….
Liberians Turn to Facebook to Find “Good Samaritans” to Fill In Gaps As Healthcare System Fails Them
Like too many people across Liberia Fatu Washington spent much of her youth “living with rejection from friends and neighbors”, as she put it, in her home village of ‘Joseph Town’ in Bomi County….
Overwhelmed Doctors at StarBase Treatment Unit Plead with People to Believe the Covid-19 is Real
Liberians are facing the latest and most dangerous wave since the Covid-19 pandemic started 15 months ago. This latest wave, caused by the highly infectious Delta variant which entered the country a month ago, has taken dozens of lives including journalists and high-profile personalities. As of July 11, 2021, the National Public Health Institute of…
Bridge International Promised to Solve Liberia’s Education Crisis. Six Years On Schools Are Still Failing
In 2016 US-based Bridge International Came To Save Liberia’s Schools. In the first of a two-part investigation with New Narratives Eric Opa Doue finds Bridge schools doing little better than state schools. YARPAH TOWN, River Cess County – Babygirl Smith helps her mother to sell snacks at the town market every Monday. The 17-year-old should…
Teacher Shortages Force Schools to Close as Rural Education Crisis Continues
This two-part series examines the county’s school system. MONWEH, River Cess- Jacob Beegar sits on a rattan chair under a palaver hut while his friends run around. Jacob doesn’t join them. The 15-year-old doesn’t want to play. He would rather be in school. Jacob should be in the 4th grade at the nearby Giemengbleh Public…
Will Liberia Finally Ban Female Genital Cutting?
Listen here: Liberia is one of just three West African nations where female genital cutting is legal. New Narratives’ Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh finds strong resistance to the bill from traditional leaders and little political will to challenge them. At the same time membership of traditional societies is plummeting.This story was a collaboration with Ok FM…
As Membership Plummets Traditional Leaders Resort to Kidnapping, Forced Genital Cutting, and Extortion
In part two of this two-part series with New Narratives, Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh finds Liberians are abandoning the Sande traditional society leading some leaders to resort to kidnapping and forced cutting. MOUNT BARCLAY, Montserrado – Deborah Parker was 15 when she was sent to a “Bush school” run by the Sande traditional society in her home…
A New Bill to Ban Female Genital Cutting Looks Set for Defeat Even as Liberians Abandon the Practice
Liberia is one of just three West African nations where female genital cutting is legal. In this two-part series with New Narratives Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh finds strong resistance to the bill from traditional leaders and little political will to challenge them. At the same time Sande’s membership is plummeting. MOUNT BARCLAY, Montserrado – 18-year-old Dearest is one…