By Stephanie M. Duncan
The Initiative for Women and Youth Empowerment (IWYE) has indicated that Liberia is experiencing an unprecedented surge in teenage pregnancy and has urged the government of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to honor Liberia’s commitment to allocate 2% of the national budget to family planning.
The organization called on the government to substantially increase funding for family planning and reproductive health services in the 2027 national budget, particularly in rural communities where access to contraceptives, reproductive health information and essential health services remains limited.
IWYE Executive Director Musu W. Davis said Liberia can no longer afford to treat family planning as a low-budget priority while increasing numbers of teenage girls are becoming pregnant.
In an exclusive interview with this newspaper, Davis described the government’s current allocation for family planning under the Ministry of Health as a “peanut allotment,” arguing that the amount is inadequate to address the country’s growing reproductive health needs.
Although funding has reportedly increased from US$50,000 to US$75,000, Davis said the increase remains insignificant compared with the scale of the challenge.
She is therefore calling on lawmakers and government officials to use the 2027 budget process to translate Liberia’s 2030 Family Planning Commitment into meaningful financial support, particularly the pledge to dedicate two percent of the national budget to family planning.
“Go to Bong County and see what is happening. Teenage pregnancies are overwhelming health workers. We are seeing girls as young as 13 and 14 coming to deliver babies. This is not normal, and it demands urgent national attention,” Davis warned.
The concerns are particularly acute in Bong County, where data cited by IWYE indicate that approximately 75 percent of births recorded at the Foequelleh Maternal Waiting Home involve girls between the ages of 13 and 14.
Records from C.B. Dunbar and Phebe hospitals also reportedly show that 3,592 teenage pregnancies were recorded between 2022 and 2024.
Davis said the figures should not be viewed merely as statistics but as evidence of a reproductive health crisis capable of undermining the education, economic opportunities and long-term development prospects of Liberia’s young population.
She linked the situation partly to declining international support for Liberia’s health sector, particularly following reductions in USAID assistance.
According to Davis, Liberia has been severely affected by the funding reductions, with an estimated US$290 million in previously available support lost across critical sectors, including health and education.
She said the resulting funding gaps have contributed to shortages of essential medicines, difficulties in supporting health workers and the closure of some health facilities, particularly in rural communities.
“This is a full-blown national emergency. The phrase ‘pregnant women’ is now being replaced by ‘pregnant girls.’ That alone should shock us into action,” Davis said.
She identified limited access to contraceptives, inadequate reproductive health education, a high unmet need for family planning services and school dropouts among factors contributing to the increase in teenage pregnancies.
Davis said the unmet need for family planning is estimated at 33 percent among women, with adolescents facing even greater barriers to accessing reproductive health information and services.
She warned that unintended pregnancies can force girls out of school, limit their future economic opportunities and contribute to cycles of household and national poverty.
According to Davis, increased investment in family planning should be viewed not only as a health-sector responsibility but also as a national development priority.
“What moves a nation forward is when its girls are educated and empowered to make informed decisions. When young people have access to contraceptives and basic health services, we reduce poverty and build a stronger Liberia,” she said.
Davis is therefore calling on the Boakai administration and members of the National Legislature to move beyond policy commitments and provide the financial resources needed to make Liberia’s two-percent family-planning commitment a reality.
She said increased domestic financing could expand access to contraceptives, strengthen reproductive health education, improve services in rural communities and prevent more girls from experiencing pregnancies that could disrupt their education and future prospects.
The IWYE Executive Director urged the government to treat family planning as an urgent national investment rather than a peripheral budget item.
She warned that failure to increase funding could place additional pressure on Liberia’s already strained health system and allow the teenage pregnancy crisis to worsen, particularly in underserved rural communities.
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