“Sherman’s journey reflects a broader shift taking place on Monrovia’s streets. A small but growing group of women is entering Liberia’s male-dominated transport sector through a fleet of electric kehkehs. The vehicles are helping Liberia address two persistent challenges: limited economic opportunities for women and worsening air pollution from thousands of gasoline-powered vehicles. For the…
FrontPage Africa
As Environmental Protection Agency to Release Report on Latest Fish Die Off Near Bea Mountain Mine Expert Warns of Long Term Contamination
By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, environment reporter with New Narratives Summary: . Cyanide contamination first struck the Mafa River in 2022; four years later, a second spill has again been traced to the Bea Mountain gold mine concession but unusual chemical has raised suspicions toxin was planted intentionally. · The Environmental Protection Agency has promised a report…
Missing Files, Missing Justice: One Case Shows How Dysfunctional Police and Justice Systems Are Failing Rape Victims
A 57‑year‑old grandmother from Montserrado County, who says she was raped in broad daylight while returning from panning for gold, has faced months of delays and demands for illegal fees as she tries to pursue justice. Her case file went missing for weeks, and despite finally being found, the trial has yet to begin. Advocates…
Missing Files, Missing Justice: One Case Shows How Dysfunctional Police and Justice Systems Are Failing Rape Victims
By Tetee Gebro, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: TODEE, Montserrado County — On a recent morning, the 57-year-old grandmother at the center of a rape case that has outraged anti-gender-based violence advocates, returned to the gold field where her life changed four months ago. Her body and mind have not recovered from what she said…
Youth Hear the Cost of Leadership And Ask for Their Turn
By Joyclyn Wea and Tetee Gebro, gender correspondents with New Narratives Summary: Young Liberians sat face-to-face with some of the country’s most powerful political figures last week in Monrovia, listening to stories of prison, exile, and hard-won leadership. But as they absorbed lessons from the past, many also made a quiet demand: they want a…
Dispute Deepens between War Crimes Court Office Chief and Justice Minister Casting Cloud Over Progress
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: A public dispute between Jallah Barbu, the executive director of the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia, and the Oswald Tweh, the justice minister, has cast a cloud over the war crimes court and a national anti-corruption court, prompting a range…
Liberian Rights Chief Faults Country on Corruption as U.N. Justice Training Gets Underway
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: The United Nations began training Liberian prosecutors, investigators and civil society actors to tackle corruption through a human rights lens this week, as the country advances plans to establish a National Anti-Corruption Court and the long-delayed War and Economic Crimes Court. The two-day initiative was…
Gambia Begins Paying Reparations to Victims of Jammeh-Era Crimes
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: The Gambia has begun paying reparations to victims of crimes committed during the violent 22-year regime of former president Yahya Jammeh that ended in 2017. The country’s 2021 Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission report recommended that more than 1,000 victims be paid 237 million dalasi…
After Mob Attack, Red Cross Begins Rebuilding Destroyed Rivercess Village — But Fear, Hunger and Insecurity Persist
The Red Cross has started rebuilding homes in Bethel Town, River Cess County after the mob attack that destroyed much of the community, but residents continue to struggle with hunger, lack of clean water, and insecurity. While the new houses bring hope, families say their most urgent needs remain unmet, leaving recovery fragile and incomplete….
After Mob Attack, Red Cross Begins Rebuilding Destroyed Rivercess Village — But Fear, Hunger and Insecurity Persist
By Eric Opa Doue with New Narratives BETHEL, River Cess County — On a recent humid morning here, the sound of shovels breaking earth has returned for the first time since a mob burned nearly the entire community last month. This time, the digging is not for destruction — but for rebuilding. Workers and residents have begun…
Nine Out of Every Ten Women Take Antibiotic Every Month a Survey Finds: Experts Describe Findings as ‘Catastrophic’ For All Liberians
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…
Tightens Controls on Abortion Drug — But Women’s Groups Warn Against Blocking Access to Care
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…
Nine Out of Every Ten Women Take Antibiotic Every Month a Survey Finds: Experts Describe Findings as ‘Catastrophic’ For All Liberians
By Gloria Wleh with New Narratives Summary: DUAZON, Margibi County — On a recent weekday, L. had just ended her four days of monthly menstruation. The next day the 18-year-old walked into a small drug store beside the main road here as she does every month. With no prescription, she asked the drug dispenser for…
Liberia’s Empty Harvest: How Gambling Is Draining the Labor from Rural Farms
By Joseph Titus Yekeryan with New Narratives NEGBAN, Bong County – The vegetable and lowland rice field behind the Yan family home here should be alive with movement this time of year: young men clearing brush; laughter rising above the steady rhythm of hoes striking soil, and seedlings lined in careful rows. Instead, the field…
Experts Say Electric Vehicles Are The Future But Rollout In Liberia Faces Challenges; A New Policy May Change That
By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, New Narratives climate correspondent On the busy roads of this capital city, something is changing. Alongside the old pickup trucks and exhaust-spewing taxis, a quieter kind of vehicle has appeared: electric cars, motorcycles and three-wheeled tricycles that hum instead of roar. They charge on electricity instead of burning gasoline and leave…
Tightens Controls on Abortion Drug — But Women’s Groups Warn Against Blocking Access to Care
By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Liberian women’s health advocates have cautiously welcomed a government announcement that it is going to more closely regulate Misoprostol, a drug widely used to cause a medical abortion or to provide care for women facing life-threatening conditions during and after pregnancy. But they warn that the…
In Rural Liberia, Climate Change and Gold Mining Are Converging to Threaten Livelihoods
Rural communities in River Cess County, Liberia, are facing a dangerous convergence of climate change and unregulated gold mining that is threatening their livelihoods. Once-reliable rivers and creeks have become polluted and muddy, forcing residents to walk long distances or pay for treated water, while local clinics report rising cases of waterborne diseases. Experts warn…
As Latest Hunger Index Shows Liberia Remains One of the Countries Most at Risk for Hunger; A New Push to Grow More Rice Could Change That
The latest Global Hunger Index ranks Liberia in the “serious” category, showing stalled progress despite decades of interventions. Experts point to the country’s heavy reliance on imported rice, low yields, and climate challenges as key drivers of food insecurity. In response, the government and partners are launching initiatives to boost local rice farming, drawing lessons…
Liberians who fled civil war and built lives in America now face removal to a country many barely remember — as the Trump administration eyes Liberia for deportees with no connection to it
The story follows Eriah Nahnie, a Liberian refugee detained in Massachusetts after arriving in America as a child. Despite raising a family and believing his asylum status protected him, he now faces removal to Liberia—a nation he has no ties to and barely recalls. His case highlights a broader pattern of Liberians being targeted under…
Women Across Party Lines Join Forces to Push Greater Representation in Government
At a meeting in Monrovia, women from major political parties acknowledged that despite their central role as voters, mobilizers, and organizers, they remain marginalized in leadership, holding just 10.7% of seats in the Legislature. The coalition, supported by UN Women and civil society groups, unveiled a revised constitution and strategic plan to strengthen advocacy, county…
As Latest Hunger Index Shows Liberia Remains One of the Countries Most at Risk for Hunger; A New Push to Grow More Rice Could Change That
By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, climate correspondent with New Narratives Summary Across rural communities in Liberia, rice paddies have fed families for generations and that have also, for generations, never quite been enough. Fields that yield barely a ton per hectare. Families that import nearly every grain they eat. A country, for more than two decades, has…