After an uncertain and challenging 2023, Liberians are entering 2024 with a new government that has promised to address economic hardship and grow the economy.
President Geoger Weah will be stepping down in 20 days after losing the 2023 presidential elections to the long-time rival and veteran Joseph Boakai.
The former Vice President, now 79, will take oath of office on Jan 22 at the Capitol in Monrovia.
New cabinet members will be appointed. Surprises and shock should be expected in the naming of the new cabinet as the next President and team are under pressure to deliver based on the tone of their campaign.
There will be some old wines in new bottles. Remember? Unity Party is back in power.
Boakai promised to fight corruption with “brutality.” Whatever that means the number of court cases on alleged financial and economic crimes may increase. Should this happen, be ready to see some high profile arrests and prosecutions. Some old UP guys may fall in the trap, too.
It is estimated that some $4 billion were taken away from the country between 2006 and 2018. There are no new figures for 2018-2023.
In two weeks there will be leadership elections in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Before its first sitting one of the 73 House members must be elected by peers to take on the role of a Speaker to prepare for the inauguration of the new President.
Neither of the two main political parties – the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change and the opposition Unity Party enjoys the outright majority to control with commanding numerical strength.
This means the CDC or the UP cannot produce the Speaker on a standalone basis.
Official results from legislative elections held on Oct. 10 showed President George Weah’s CDC won 25 seats in the 73-member House of Representatives.
Incoming President Joseph Boakai’s Unity Party took 11 seats.
Independent candidates grabbed 19 seats while other parties won 18 seats.
Judging from the numbers and the complexity of the House’s chemistry in the context of its multiparty dimensional look, a candidate for officer of the Speaker must be a consensus leader who commands colleagues’ respect and trust.
The Oracle predicts the Coalition for Democratic Change will control the House.
In the Senate, with the United States sanctioning of ranking Senator and former Speaker Emmanuel Nuquay on the margin of the Pro tempore race, it is not certain which main party will take control of the upper House.
Two senators of Grand Bassa County, former Pro tempore Gbehnzohngar Milton Findley (Independent) and Senator Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence (Unity Party Alliance) will measure numerical strength for the pro tempore position.
Karnga Lawrence is enjoying the support of President Joseph Boakai for the role while Findley is rallying the support of outgoing ruling CDC and independent senators. It’s an open race.
Economy
After experiencing exchange rate weakness and high inflation caused by the 17.8% fall of the Liberian dollar against the US dollar in 2023, the Central Bank of Liberia is forecasting
that in 2024 growth will accelerate to 5.4%, the strongest since 2015, driven by recovering private consumption, amid lower inflation, greater currency stability, and stronger net exports.
Risks to growth forecasts include further weakening of the Liberian dollar in 2024, which could increase according to estimates.
Carbon Credit
The incoming administration will be thinking about a deal to sell land to a Dubai-based firm, Blue Carbon LLC, for forest preservation projects that will earn carbon credits.
The deal, which would involve 10% of the country’s landmass, was still in discussion and was expected to be brought to lawmakers after details were agreed, outgoing Vice President Jewel Taylor told Bloomberg in an interview before the election.
Health
U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative Launched in 2005, supports implementation of malaria prevention and treatment measures as well as cross-cutting interventions. PMI’s 2021–2026 strategy, End Malaria Faster, envisions a world free of malaria within our generation with the goal of preventing malaria cases, reducing malaria deaths and illness, and eliminating malaria in PMI partner countries.
PMI currently supports 27 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and three programs across the Greater Mekong Subregion in Southeast Asia to control and eliminate malaria.
Liberia began implementation as a PMI partner country in fiscal year (FY) 2008. The proposed fiscal year (FY) 2024 PMI funding for Liberia is $13.5 million. PMI will support the following intervention areas with these funds:
1. Vector Monitoring and Control PMI Liberia and the NMCP will continue to support entomological and insecticide susceptibility monitoring programs to understand malaria vector prevalence, behavior, location and susceptibility to insecticides.
PMI will also expand mobile digital technology for entomological collections and understanding human behaviors which inform vector control decisions.
PMI Liberia will support enhanced surveillance for Anopheles stephensi at relevant ports (sea and land) and other suitable areas. Liberia will also continue to use a two-pronged approach to deploy insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs).
ITNs will be distributed through campaigns 6 every three years (next in calendar year [CY] 2024) and through continuous distribution channels (antenatal care [ANC], institutions, schools, and through the Expanded Program on Immunization [EPI]).
With fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding, PMI will procure 500,000 dual active ingredient (AI) ITNs (Interceptor® G2 [IG2]).
2. Malaria in Pregnancy PMI Liberia supports malaria in pregnancy (MIP) interventions for pregnant women at the facility level, which includes provision of intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women (IPTp); ITNs during the first ANC visit and at delivery; and malaria testing for pregnant women with fever during ANC visits and providing appropriate treatment for those confirmed to have malaria.
With FY 2024 funds, PMI will continue to support training on MIP guidelines and reduction of barriers to receiving ANC services, including community distribution of IPTp in partnership with the EPI outreach services.
Support will also be provided for revising and disseminating updated MIP treatment guidelines and training materials.
The revisions will incorporate the World Health Organization (WHO) guidance on the use of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) to treat uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in the first trimester of pregnancy. 3. Drug-Based Prevention Drug-based prevention is not implemented in Liberia.
4. Case Management PMI supports the national case management strategies outlined in the 2021–2025 NSP by providing technical support to scale up testing for malaria with rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and microscopy, with the goal that all persons with suspected malaria attending public health facilities and community services are tested, and all patients who test positive are treated for malaria with an effective artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) according to national guidelines.
With FY 2024 funds, PMI will support the NMCP’s efforts to ensure universal availability of quality-assured diagnostic testing and treatment for malaria at all levels of the healthcare system, including at the community health program at all times, and limited engagement with private sector providers.
PMI will also continue to support training and supportive supervision of health workers at all levels of the health system to improve the quality of care for malaria services.
5. Health Supply Chain and Pharmaceutical Management PMI will continue to support the NMCP and Department of Pharmaceutical Services (DPS) with supply chain and pharmaceutical management strengthening activities and ensuring commodity security.
The efforts will include strengthening the leadership, governance, and 7 ownership of the DPS; supporting malaria commodity quantification; strengthening electronic Logistics Management Information System (eLMIS) reporting and data quality; and supporting routine distribution of ITNs to health facilities for ANC and institutional delivery and schools.
In recognition that Liberia needs a new approach to managing the supply chain, the Ministry of Health (MOH), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund), agreed to outsource operations of the Central Medical Store (CMS) starting in mid-2023.
PMI will support the CMS operations, while Global Fund supports first and last mile distribution.
With FY 2024 funding, PMI will also continue to support regulatory functions of the Liberia Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority (LMHRA), fund post-market surveillance to investigate possible counterfeit and substandard commodities, support an annual End Use Verification (EUV) survey, and renovate county depot warehouses.
6. Malaria Vaccine PMI will support the NMCP and EPI to implement the malaria vaccine in selected districts across the country. As a new tool, malaria vaccine roll-out will require strengthened collaboration and coordination between NMCP and EPI.
PMI’s support will focus on demand generation for parents and caregivers, development and adaptation of data collection tools, support retention of children in the program, and monitoring and evaluation of the roll out.
7. Social and Behavior Change PMI funding for social and behavior change (SBC) will continue to focus on improving ITN use; closing the gap of missed opportunities for IPTp3+; and adhering to malaria case management guidelines.
PMI will also support social and behavior change (SBC) activities related to malaria vaccine rollout, and the NMCP’s strategic approaches for capacity strengthening, design and implementation, coordination with service delivery, and monitoring and evaluation.
PMI support for these capacity-strengthening activities will be directed toward NMCP staff and subnational health staff, implementing SBC activities at national, county, district, and community levels. 8. Surveillance, Monitoring, and Evaluation PMI will support NMCP and MOH to monitor the implementation and progress of the 2021–2025 NSP.
PMI will continue to support strengthening the national routine malaria surveillance through the District Health Information Software2 (DHIS2), especially with the introduction of the malaria vaccine.
In addition, PMI will support the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in 2025 including malaria biomarkers, therapeutic efficacy study (TES), and evaluation of malaria vaccine implementation.
The findings of the studies and evaluation will be used to guide malaria program implementation decisions and activities.
With FY 2024 funding, PMI will provide technical assistance and resources to support the NMCP to strengthen staff capacity to conduct routine surveillance and surveys as a core malaria 8 intervention; to collect, transmit, analyze and produce high quality data; and to monitor progress overtime.
9. Operational Research and Program Evaluation No operations research / program evaluation activities are proposed with FY 2024 funding.
10.Capacity Strengthening PMI will continue strengthening the capacity of Liberian health officials to reduce the malaria burden for all Liberians.
PMI will provide training and tools to improve daily malaria control activities and tasks, work alongside technical experts in various aspects of malaria control, support Liberian health officials at all levels of the health system.
From newer ledgers for improved data entry and surveillance of malaria to participation by county and national malaria program officials in Field Epidemiology
PMI will provide tools needed to better track this scourge. PMI will work with Peace Corps volunteers and Rotary Clubs to advocate and educate Liberians about how to seek care when malaria is suspected and ways to prevent malaria.