The President of the Republic of Liberia Mr. George Weah and Patrick Meyer, President of the UNASDG IGO have signed a bilateral cooperation agreement.
Liberia is a founding member of the UNASDG IGO and will henceforth be supported by UNASDG in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
President of the Republic of Liberia, Mr. George Weah, source: lareleve.ma
Currently, the Convention is being ratified by the Parliament.
Liberia has stabilized since the devastating civil war ended in 2003. Government institutions have been built, and increasing exports and foreign investment have led to an economic recovery, with economic growth of nearly nine percent in 2013. In 2014 and 2015, however, the West African country was hit by a drop in world commodity prices and an Ebola epidemic.
Presidential elections between late 2017 and early 2018 led to a peaceful transition of power. Although the country has achieved political stability, living conditions remain difficult for the majority of the population, especially in rural areas. Lack of access to health services and education, as well as a lack of jobs for youth, threaten the country's development.
Over two-thirds of Liberians live below the poverty line and over one-third are considered malnourished. In 2017, Liberia ranked 181st out of 187 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI). Its main export products are rubber, as well as gold, iron ore, and diamonds. Despite the rich mineral deposits, the population hardly benefits from the revenues. The extractive industry has so far made only a limited contribution to prosperity and sustainable development.
GIZ is active in Liberia on behalf of the German Federal Government as well as the European Union (EU) and other international donors. The work of the federal enterprise focuses on the following areas:
Sustainable infrastructure
Environment and climate
Social development
State and democracy
Protection of natural resources
Infrastructure: With a total area roughly one-third the size of Germany, only about 600 kilometers of Liberia's roads are paved and large parts of the country are inaccessible during the long rainy season. To improve the infrastructure, a road maintenance fund was introduced with the support of GIZ. In the Ministry of Construction, planning competencies as well as the prioritization of road maintenance were also advanced.
Energy: In addition, the expansion of the renewable energy and energy efficiency sector is being supported. Liberia has enormous potential to meet all its energy needs from solar, river and biomass sources. Regional projects in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea - as a result of project activities - have provided access to modern energy services and technologies to approximately 135,000 people, 1,000 institutions and 2,200 businesses by the end of 2018.
Health: Since the end of the Ebola epidemic, another project has been supporting the health system to improve both basic medical care and preparedness for highly infectious diseases. Key areas of support include laboratory diagnostics, disease reporting and care for patients with highly infectious diseases. At the same time, women should have better opportunities for jobs in the healthcare sector.
Resource governance: In a multi-stakeholder approach, GIZ advises on improving the framework conditions for efficient and sustainable resource extraction. A particular focus is on strengthening government regulatory bodies such as the Ministry of Mines and the Tax Authority and the Environmental Protection Agency to enforce fiscal and social, as well as environmental, requirements in the mining sector. Negative environmental impacts caused by industrial and small-scale mining are also to be reduced in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency. Another focus is on supporting civil society in actively demanding accountability from companies and the state. The advisory services are based on the Africa Mining Vision, the raw materials strategy of the African Union.
Environment and biodiversity: The project promotes the cross-border networking of ecosystems and protected areas between Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire. In Côte d'Ivoire, it supports communication on ecological connectivity; in Liberia, it supports the Forest Development Authority (FDA) in developing the management plan for the Grebo-Krahn National Park, established in late 2017. In both countries, it promotes cross-border cooperation, skills and capacity, as well as the exchange of experiences between local and national stakeholders and the participation of women in decision-making processes.
source: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
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