The Ofankor-Pokuasi-Nsawam Highway was once a vital transportation artery for the local economy, but legal battles and government debt owed contractors have delayed the reconstruction by two years as surrounding communities face a range of problems. Key among them is their health. Experts warn the delayed project has become a major health hazard for over…
By Anthony Stephens, senior correspondent with New Narratives Liberia has overwhelmingly won a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council—64 years after it first held the role. One hundred and eighty-one of the 188 member states of the UN voted for Liberia. The vote marked a historic milestone for the country, coming nearly 22…
Telecom giant Lonestar Cell MTN is taking Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency to court after challenging a $15,000 fine for noise pollution at its Congo Town generator site, a penalty the agency says followed scientific tests showing noise above national and WHO limits and years of complaints from neighbors, setting up a legal showdown that many…
COP30 is the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Belém, Brazil, where nearly every nation on Earth gathered to negotiate how the world responds to the climate crisis, from strengthening climate action plans and securing finance for vulnerable communities to assessing progress since the Paris Agreement and pushing for solutions that matter for…
Summary: By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Christine N. Umutoni, the United Nations resident coordinator in Liberia, reaffirmed the U.N.’s support for the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia at an event in Monrovia marking International Human Rights Day, as a dispute between the Office and a bloc of…
Summary: By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives The Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia, the body tasked with establishing a war and economic crimes court and a National Anti-Corruption Court, has dismissed a newly submitted civil society bill to establish a war and economics crimes court as “mischief”…
By Anthony Stephens, senior correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Sweden, long Liberia’s most reliable and generous development partner, announced on Friday that it will end bilateral aid to Liberia and close its embassy in Monrovia by August bringing an abrupt end to decades of deep cooperation. In a statement on Facebook, the embassy described the decision it…
Summary: By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives In a surprise move, a coalition of advocates led by the Independent National Commission on Human Rights on Tuesday submitted a new war crimes court bill to the Legislature. It came as campaigners intensified efforts to block an earlier version that would exclude so-called “international” crimes including war crimes and crimes against humanity from…
Accra’s toxic air pollution is hitting poorer families the hardest, widening health gaps and deepening environmental injustice across the city. Jennifer Ambolley reports in this social media Video. To read more about this story click this link: https://thechronicle.com.gh/ghana-accras-toxic-air-hits-poorer-families-hardest-widening-health-gap/ This story was a collaboration with New Narratives, with funding from the Clean Air Fund. The funder…
By JENNIFER AMBOLLEY Agbogbloshie, Accra – Every morning, long before the sun burns through Accra’s haze, Doris Tey opens her stall here among a street of traders. She sells plastic basins and buckets, stacking them high in neat, colourful towers that brighten the grey air around her. By noon, the market is alive with the…
By Aria Deemie, climate change reporter with New Narratives Summary: Liberia’s civil society and community leaders on Tuesday urged the government to accelerate action on climate justice, warning that vulnerable communities remain exposed to worsening climate impacts despite years of policy commitments. The call came at the close of the National People’s Climate Justice Summit, a two-day meeting…
By Aria Deemie, climate change reporter with New Narratives Climate change is no distant threat lurking beyond our shores—it is here, reshaping the lives and livelihoods of ordinary people across Liberia and West Africa with every rising tide and failing harvest. Rainy seasons arrive late, flooding becomes more frequent, sea levels continue to rise, and homes…
By Aria Deemie climate change reporter with New Narratives Summary: The 30th annual summit of world nations committed to slowing climate change, known as the Conference of the Parties, concluded last week with countries pledging a range of actions to slow global warming and help vulnerable countries adapt. Leaders at the summit, held in Belém,…
By Aria Deemie, climate change reporter with New Narratives Summary: · Monrovia experienced its hottest dry season on record in 2024. Climate models predict the city could face up to 118 additional hot days annually by mid-century. · Experts warn prolonged exposure to extreme heat increases the risk of heat exhaustion, dehydration, and pregnancy complications,…
Experts warn that extreme heat is not just uncomfortable but deadly, with the world’s hottest recorded year driving up heat-related deaths as people in Liberia and beyond face soaring temperatures, increased exhaustion, dehydration, and serious health risks that hit the most vulnerable hardest and underscore a growing climate crisis with real human costs. Aria Deemie…
Doctors in Liberia are sounding the alarm that rampant misuse of antimicrobial drugs is fueling the rise of drug-resistant “superbugs” that are killing thousands and leaving sick people defenseless against common infections, as families give antibiotics without medical guidance and the threat of antimicrobial resistance grows into a major public health crisis. Gloria Wleh reports…
After surviving addiction and completing treatment at Liberia’s only government-approved rehab center, many graduates say the hardest challenge isn’t detox but going home to communities where stigma, isolation, unemployment and shattered family ties make staying clean a daily battle, highlighting that recovery truly begins long after rehab ends. Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon reports in this social…
After years of struggling with addiction, Liberians who have completed treatment at the country’s only government approved rehabilitation center say the hardest challenge begins when they return home, where stigma, weak family support, and limited job opportunities make staying sober a daily struggle and show that recovery does not end with treatment but continues in…
By Tetee Gebro, senior reporter with New Narratives Summary: As Liberia marks the global campaign known as 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, rape survivors say they are being turned away from courts and told to “bring your money first” before their cases can proceed. Experts say the justice system extorts victims instead of…
Call for Applications for our 2026 Reporting Fellowships in Liberia. Deadline for applications: January 10, 2026. Journalists with at least three years experience are invited to apply to join New Narratives as reporting fellows on a range of topics including governance, democracy, human trafficking, gender-based violence, climate change, pollution, biodiversity and land rights. Funding is…
By Joyclyn Wea, senior correspondent, New Narratives Summary: MISSION-THIRD, Montserrado County – Esther’s final words came in weak, gasping breaths. “I won’t make it,” the mother of six whispered, collapsing in the yard as neighbor Ma Fatu tried to hold her upright. Blood streamed from her nose. Moments earlier, according to her five-year-old daughter who witnessed the attack, Esther’s husband…
