By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, climate and environment reporter with New Narratives Summary GBAA-GAYE TOWN, Grand Bassa County – Eight-month-old Helen does not play the way babies usually do. She lies against her mother’s chest, as they sit under a palaver hut in this remote village surrounded by forest and accessible by one hand-cut road. Helen’s legs are…
Journalism
Swedish Ambassador Pledges Continued Support for Post-War Justice, Sexual and Reproductive Rights Among Other Priorities After Embassy Closure
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Sweden’s ambassador to Liberia has used an exclusive interview with Frontpage Africa/New Narratives marking the end of the country’s sixteen years of direct bilateral support since the end of the war, to reaffirm his government’s commitment to Liberia’s post war justice and accountability process. Ambassador…
Swedish Ambassador Pledges Continued Support for Post-War Justice, Sexual and Reproductive Rights Among Other Priorities After Embassy Closure
Despite closing its embassy and ending direct bilateral development assistance to Liberia, Sweden says it remains committed to supporting the country’s post-war justice, human rights and sexual and reproductive health priorities through the United Nations, European Union and other multilateral programs. Swedish Ambassador Karl Backéus urged progress toward establishing a War and Economic Crimes Court,…
Saudi Rice Trial Goes to Court, But Victims Say They Still Want the Help They Were Promised
The long-delayed trial over thousands of bags of Saudi-donated rice meant for vulnerable and disaster-affected Liberians is underway in Monrovia, but flood victims in River Cess say justice must go beyond the courtroom. Saudi Arabia donated 29,000 bags of rice in 2023, and prosecutors allege that 25,054 bags, valued at about US$425,918, were stolen, misapplied…
A Coalition of African Civil Society Groups Demands Control of Development Money. But Can They Afford to Say No to Donors?
African civil society leaders are calling for a major shift in how development money is managed, arguing that African organizations and communities should have greater power to decide their own priorities rather than simply follow donor agendas. At a gathering of more than 200 civil society leaders, funders and policymakers in Accra, participants pushed for…
A Coalition of African Civil Society Groups Demands Control of Development Money. But Can They Afford to Say No to Donors?
By Tetee Gebro, gender and health correspondent with New Narratives Summary ACCRA, Ghana — When a donor offered money to an organization working in Kenya, it came with an opportunity to expand its work into more communities. For a small organization that needed funding, it might have seemed like an easy decision. It wasn’t. The donor wanted the…
Saudi Rice Trial Goes to Court, But Victims Say They Still Want the Help They Were Promised
By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary INTERNATIONAL TIMBER INDUSTRY VILLAGE, River Cess County — When Eric Kollor learned that former government officials were finally on trial over thousands of bags of Saudi-donated rice meant for vulnerable and disaster-affected Liberians, he was surprised. The case had been moving through the courts in Monrovia,…
War Crimes Court Office Chief Urges Boakai to Recall Lawmakers for Special Session to Pass Court Bill Before U.N. General Assembly This Month
Summary PAYNESVILLE CITY, Montserrado County—Jallah Barbu, executive director of the Office for the Establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court, has urged President Joseph Boakai to exercise his constitutional power by recalling lawmakers from their annual constituency break to act on legislation establishing the long-promised court. Speaking Saturday at a Paynesville hotel during the 17th…
A New Survey Warns Legislators: Liberians Overwhelmingly Want a War Crimes Court and They Won’t Vote for Lawmakers Who Oppose It
“The war took away my childhood and left wounds that I still carry in my heart. I saw families separated, homes destroyed, and people running for their lives. Some of us still wake up remembering the sounds of gunfire and the faces of people we never saw again. That is why I want to see…
Proposed War Crimes Court Has Some Surprising Allies: Warlords
Joshua Blahyi, once feared as “General Butt Naked,” confessed to killing thousands during the civil war and now insists that only a war crimes court can free him and his family from the burden of his past. He is joined by other former fighters like Victoria Zeh, who was forced into combat as a teenager…
23 Years Into Peace, Victims Celebrate Progress but Say Justice Remains Unfinished
Twenty‑three years after Liberia’s hard‑won peace, survivors celebrate progress but remind us that justice is still unfinished. This powerful piece shows how the wounds of war linger even as the nation rebuilds. Anthony Stephens reports in this social media Video. To read more about this story click this link: Liberia: 23 Years Into Peace, Victims…
Charlyne Brumskine Becomes First Liberian Woman Appointed to Prestigious Post on West African Regional Court
“I am continuing the legacy of Liberian women who came before me, those who plaited the mat on which I sit. But I am also a forebearer of those who will come after me. I am simply keeping the seat warm for them and providing a blueprint of how Liberian women must represent our country…
A New Survey Warns Legislators: Liberians Overwhelmingly Want a War Crimes Court and They Won’t Vote for Lawmakers Who Oppose It
By Eric Opa Doue, chief county correspondent with New Narratives Summary: BOLA, Bomi County– Kumba Thomas returns home from a long day at her farm. Around her, life in the community continues at its ordinary pace, but ghosts follow Thomas, weighing down every step of her day. Thomas says she was a new mother when fighting reached…
Delayed construction projects creating air pollution and health risks for people across the country
BY Prince Owusu Asiedu Life for residents and workers along the Adentan–Dodowa Road was upended in 2024. A routine upgrade scheduled to take three long years has left the community covered in dust and harmful pollutants putting thousands of lives here at risk. The project stalled early on and now experts say the failure to…
The commute that pollutes: How Ghana’s poor urban cities are sickening millions
BY KINGSLEY E. HOPE Every weekday morning in Ghana’s largest cities, the same ritual unfolds: even before the sun has risen, one side of the motorway fills as commuters, who live mostly on the outskirts of the cities, pile into vehicles that crawl toward ministries, hospitals, universities, courts and commercial centres clustered in the city’s…
Air Pollution in Accra is not random; it is a burden carried by the poor
By Caleb Ahinakwah A comparison of air quality between the informal settlement of Nima and the wealthier community of Cantonments shows that in Accra, clean air is not shared equally — it follows the same pattern as much else in Ghana, where income and address determine quality of life. It is not yet 7 am…
Ghana’s silent poison: Three years after landmark survey found children being poisoned by lead, slow pace of reforms is putting more children at risk
By Joyce Gyekye Summary: TEMA, Greater Accra Region — In this community and others around it, a threat that cannot be seen is quietly harming adults and children. E-waste and battery recycling operations are a growing industry in West Africa as the region becomes a dumping ground for waste products from Europe and the United States….
Seven In 10 Women Take Antibiotics Monthly, Experts Raise Alarm To Catastrophic Public Health Outcomes
Health experts in Ghana have raised serious concerns after research revealed that seven out of ten women reportedly take antibiotics every month. They warn that this widespread practice could accelerate antimicrobial resistance, making common infections harder to treat and posing catastrophic risks to public health if urgent action is not taken. Jennifer Ambolley reports in…
They Were Found Guilty in Liberia’s Biggest Human Trafficking Trial But No one Has Been Charged Over a Death in the Case. Now the Family Wants Justice
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: It was Liberia’s biggest human trafficking trial to date. At the end of 22 days of hearings in June and July, a jury took just 23 minutes to decide eleven defendants were guilty of a range of crimes against 57 victims who were trafficked, starved, forced…
Fed, But Starving: Health Workers Say Misinformation, Fees and Aid Cuts are Causing a Dramatic Rise in Severely Malnourished Babies
By King Brown with New Narratives Summary: BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa County— The sun is hot here in Big Joe Town, outside Grand Bassa’s capital city. Lovetee, 21, sits on a wooden chair watching her four-month-old daughter, Princess, lying weak on her lap, suffering from diarrhea. Princess’s ribs show through her skin, and her hair is thinning…
Charlyne Brumskine Becomes First Liberian Woman Appointed to Prestigious Post on West African Regional Court
By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary When Charlyne Brumskine learned she had been selected to the coveted post as a judge on the Ecowas Community Court of Justice, her thoughts turned to her late father. Charles Walker Brumskine, the prominent lawyer and four-time presidential candidate who died in 2019, had hoped to…