The Government of Liberia, through the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-information Services (LISGIS), with partnership funding from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has reviewed and validated the National Population Policy Development Document.
By Lincoln G. Peters
Monrovia, July 17, 2025: The two-day (July 15-16, 2025) consultative symposium for stakeholders, held at a local hotel in Monrovia, was organized by the Population Policy Unit (PPCU) at LISGIS, the secretariat of the National Population Commission of Liberia.
The objective of the initiative is to review the National Population Policy, which has been in existence since 1988, to ensure that it is updated to meet the current development and planning needs of the country, especially those of the vulnerable Population. Additionally, it aims to gather the input of stakeholders to enable everyone to understand the policy and contribute their insights to guide Liberia’s development drive, ensuring comprehensive and inclusive development.
The validation of the policy was attended by international Development Partners, local Civil Society Organizations, the disabled community, as well as government institutions, including the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the University of Liberia’s Institute of Population Studies, among others.
At the close of the program, the participants, based on the knowledge they had gathered from the training, divided themselves into three groups and evaluated and reviewed the Population Policy Development Document, making recommendations to guide national development.
Speaking in an interview with the Director for Population Policy (PPCU) Coordination Unit at LISGIS, Mr. Stephen Quoi stated that since the National Population Policy came into existence, Liberians had validated the policy only once, and that was in 2005 during the administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
He expressed appreciation and gratitude to the UNFPA and LISGIS for collaboration and support, while disclosing that the Consultant provided by UNFPA will help them develop a better contemporary population policy that incorporates everyone in society and gives a voice to the ordinary.
Mr. Quoi pointed out that within the context of the International Development standard, it is important that every policy be reviewed and validated after every five years to enable incorporation of every new change, while adding that the review of the policy is in alignment with the government of Liberia’s Agenda for Inclusive Development.
According to him, the process took longer to be validated due to the Liberian Civil War. However, after fourteen years of Civil conflict, the process stalled due to the absence of key policymakers, who had either died, retired, or been displaced by the war.
” So, when President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf came to power in 2005, Liberia reviewed the Policy. Now, since 2005, we have not revisited the policy. In 2008 and 2022, Liberia conducted censuses. All these censuses have introduced a lot of data that is not found within the policy; therefore, this revision process will help us to ensure that all of the information from those censuses is incorporated in the Policy to enable inclusive development planning,” Mr. Quoi added.
He disclosed that, beginning next week, they are expected to conduct key informant interviews in Liberia’s 15 counties to gather practical, accurate data to update the policy and make it more comprehensive.
” I want to express my gratitude to UNFPA for the support and to LISGIS for reaching out to them. The UNFPA has provided us with a consultant who you saw in the meeting, who is part of the process. He will help us to develop a modern, contemporary, and more comprehensive Population Development Policy that will project an inclusive development and planning,” he added. -Edited by Othello B. Garblah.
