The Mid-Year Programme Review and Planning meeting on sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in Liberia reveals that out of 585,000 adolescents counseled on family planning, only 10 percent embraced the use of contraceptives here.
By Lincoln G. Peters
Monrovia, Liberia; August 1, 2025 – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Government of Liberia and International partners 2025 Mid-Year Programme Review and Planning meeting on sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in Liberia, has shown that 585,000 clients received family planning counseling, with only a small fraction less than 10% of adolescents counseled chose to initiate contraceptive use.
On Thursday, July 31, 2025, the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, LISGIS, along with civil society, and the international community, gathered to assess implementation progress, celebrate achievements, and identify challenges encountered during the first half of the year on the implementation of the SRHR Project.
The session also served to realign efforts and strengthen partnerships for the remainder of the program year. However, the primary objectives of the review were to evaluate progress made under the fifth Country Programme Document (CPD), spotlight key achievements and success stories, document lessons learned and recommend corrective actions to ensure full realization of planned results before the end of 2025.
The 2025 Mid-Year Programme Review and Planning meeting concluded with renewed calls for evidence-driven, equitable, and urgent actions to strengthen Liberia’s sexual and reproductive health systems.
Remarking during the program, Sanford Wesseh, UNFPA Programme Specialist for Data and Evidence, shared sobering statistics on family planning, antenatal care, and institutional delivery across Liberia.
The figures, drawn from January to June 2025, revealed both progress and significant areas of concern, especially among adolescents and rural communities.
“From Q1 to Q2 of 2025, over 585,000 clients received family planning counseling. However, only a small fraction, less than 10% of adolescents who were counseled chose to initiate contraceptive use. This is a red flag. If counseling happens, but uptake is so low, we need to reassess our messaging. Are we focusing on side effects instead of benefits? Are adolescents being given real choices?” Mr. Wesseh asked.
He named Bomi, Nimba, and Bong, some of the most populous counties in Liberia, with initiation rates among adolescents of less than 5%. At the same time, Maryland, Sinoe, and Grand Kru had the highest, mainly due to targeted UNFPA interventions.
“While 73% of pregnant women attended at least one antenatal care (ANC) visit between January and July, only about 40% completed the recommended four visits, with dropout rates exceeding 50% in counties like Montserrado. In places like River Gee and Grand Gedeh, over 30% of women, who started ANC, never returned,” Wesseh reported. “We must investigate the causes, whether they be the attitude of healthcare workers, poor service quality, or accessibility barriers,” he urged.
He indicated that Sinoe and Rivercess had the lowest dropout rates, pointing to pockets of good practice that could be replicated elsewhere. At the same time, from January to June, 68,184 institutional deliveries were reported, with coverage improving in several counties.
However, Montserrado lagged with only 33% of births occurring in health facilities.
Disturbingly, in some counties, up to 19% of facility-based deliveries were handled by unskilled personnel, as a result of skilled staff delegating to aides. “This undermines the very purpose of institutional delivery,” Wesseh warned.
Liberia also recorded a 76% increase in cesarean sections from Q1 to Q2, totaling nearly 8,000 procedures in the first half of 2025.
Montserrado led the counties, though equity in access across counties remains an issue.
The Minister of Budget and Planning, Wellington Barchue, praised UNFPA and partners for their enduring support through multiple crises in Liberia’s history, including conflict and pandemics.
“This mid-year review could not have come at a more critical time,” he said. “We have just launched our new national development strategy—the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development. We urge all development actors to ensure that their final year inputs into the Country Programme reflect the priorities of this new plan.”
Barchue also provided insights into the ongoing national budget planning process, including Liberia’s efforts to transition to program-based budgeting.
The Officer-in-Charge at UNFPA Liberia, Leonard Kamugisha, outlined significant achievements during the first half of 2025, including the finalization of Liberia’s sixth Country Programme Document and its upcoming consideration by the UNFPA Executive Board in August.
“Despite global funding cuts, notably from the U.S. government, we remain encouraged by the steadfast support from partners like Sweden and Ireland,” Kamugisha said. “We also recognize new partnerships with the Embassy of Japan and ongoing collaborations under the EU-funded Spotlight Initiative.”
He spotlighted progress made on national guidelines for family planning, collaborative work with the First Lady’s office to champion maternal health, and preparations for launching Liberia’s third-generation National Population Policy.
Expected outputs from the 2025 Mid-Year Review include a comprehensive implementation progress report, documentation of success stories, identified best practices, and a roadmap for the remaining months of the year. Editing by Jonathan Browne
