In October, during World Sight Day celebrations, Liberia’s Health Ministry announced an ambitious promise: to screen one thousand students and distribute twelve thousand donated reading glasses nationwide.Six months later, the ministry says about one fourth of those glasses have been distributed but it still has not given details on who received them. That’s leading vision…
Across Liberia, a quiet crisis is unfolding—one that rarely makes headlines. It’s not war, not Ebola, but hunger. And at its center are women and children. As New Narratives climate reporter Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon found, women and children are feeling the impact of the crisis. This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part…
By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: SINKOR, Monrovia— Dressed in black, chanting in anger and grief, scores of women marched through Monrovia on Monday to demand justice for Toni Jackson, the wife of Samuel Jackson, a prominent economist and political commentator, and to press the Liberian government to act more forcefully against gender-based…
Young Liberians marched to the Women’s Peace Hub in Monrovia to demand real action on rape, saying that five years after the issue was declared a national emergency, cases are still rising and survivors are still fighting for justice; they delivered a petition calling for faster trials, stronger forensic services, better survivor support and an…
By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: CONGO TOWN, Monrovia – Dozens of young Liberians marched through the streets of the capital to the Women’s Peace Hub here on Thursday for an anti-rape protest. They had planned to march on the nation’s Capitol building but government officials said they did not properly request…
Liberia is at risk of losing millions in global climate funding as experts warn the country must urgently strengthen its environmental governance, after years of stalled projects left coastal communities, farmers and vulnerable families exposed to rising seas and unpredictable weather; now, with leaders and partners meeting in Monrovia to chart a new path, many…
By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, climate change correspondent with New Narratives Summary Liberia risks missing out on millions of dollars in international climate financing unless it strengthens its environmental governance systems, a Liberian climate expert has warned. Isaac Nyaneyon Kannah Teah, a Liberian climate expert with a master’s degree in geoscience from Cadi Ayyad University in Morocco,…
Liberians are feeling the pinch as global oil prices soar past $100 a barrel, driving up the cost of transport, food, electricity and daily survival in a country that relies entirely on imported fuel. Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon reports in this social media Video. To read more about this story click this link: Liberia: Middle East…
By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, climate correspondent with New Narratives Summary Liberians are paying more to travel, eat and keep the lights on as conflict in the Middle East pushes global oil prices above $US100 a barrel for the first time in years, exposing the country’s dependence on imported fuel to the world’s most volatile markets….
Liberians are raising fresh questions about transparency after human rights lawyer Tiawan Gongloe revealed that police still haven’t released the full DNA and investigative report that cleared former Deputy Minister Bryant McGill in the alleged rape of a 14‑year‑old girl. Police say DNA testing abroad and cellphone data exonerated McGill, but the survivor’s family has…
By Tetee Gebro, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Human rights lawyer Tiawan Saye Gongloe says the Liberia National Police has not released the full DNA and investigative report that cleared former Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Bryant McGill in a rape case involving a 14-year-old girl, more than a month after he requested the…
After more than 15 years of investigation, a Belgian appeals court has ruled that Martina Johnson — one of the most powerful commanders in Charles Taylor’s rebel movement — must finally stand trial for alleged atrocities committed during Liberia’s first civil war. Johnson is accused of leading brutal attacks during Operation Octopus, a 1992 assault…
Armed men recently broke into the offices of the Global Justice and Research Project, threatening director Hassan Bility and warning that they “knew where he lived,” in what activists say is the latest attempt to intimidate those pursuing accountability for Liberia’s civil‑war atrocities. The attack, along with fresh threats against witnesses and officials working on…
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: A high court in Belgum ruled on Thursday that Martina Johnson, one of the most powerful women of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front for Liberia, should stand trial for crimes she’s accused of committing during Liberia’s first civil war between 1989 and 1996. The decision by…
Young Liberians are preparing to march on the Capitol on Thursday, demanding real action to stop the rise in rape and gender‑based violence. Despite a national emergency declared in 2020, cases continue to climb, and activists say survivors still face intimidation, delays, and unequal justice. Youth organizers want lawmakers to show concrete results—stronger investigations, fairer…
Fear of rising crime has been on the minds of many Liberians. But the truth is crime in the country is dropping. That’s particularly true in Bong County which has seen one of the largest drops in community crime anywhere in the country.Police records show that in the seven years to 2023, reported crimes fell…
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Armed men broke into the offices of the Global Justice and Research Project last month, targeting Liberia’s leading organization investigating civil war crimes, according to security guards, and alarming activists who say threats against victims, witnesses and investigators are rising. According to Hassan Bility, director…
By Joyclyn Wea with New Narratives Summary: Six years ago, former president George Weah won praise for declaring rape a national emergency. He promised a tougher response to sexual and gender-based violence. But little real change was evident, and the numbers kept rising. In 2024, the number of cases of rape, domestic violence, and other…
A former president’s address at the Capitol reignited debate over Liberia’s low number of women in political leadership, highlighting that women hold less than 11 percent of seats in the Legislature despite their historic role in securing peace and democracy. Advocates and women leaders say the problem stems from weak gender‑quota laws, political party practices…
A dead baby whale washed ashore at Sheri Beach in Congo Town on February 11, its head tightly entangled in a fishing net, drawing more than a thousand people who quickly cut the carcass apart for food before authorities arrived the next day. The incident exposed major gaps in Liberia’s coastal protection system—weak enforcement of…
By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, environment correspondent with New Narratives Summary CONGO TOWN, Monrovia-The morning of February 11 started like most mornings at here at Sheri Beach on the shoreline of the capital – the slow crash of Atlantic waves, the smell of salt and diesel. Then someone spotted something enormous at the water’s edge: A baby…
