Monrovia – With banners raised and voices united, a broad cross-section of Liberians converged at the Capitol Building on Monday to mark World Water Day, issuing a passionate plea to the government to urgently address the country’s deepening water and sanitation crisis.
The event, held under the national theme “Preserving Our Human Rights to Water: A Catalyst for Human Development,” drew more than 2,000 participants from across the country. Civil society groups, women and youth organizations, students, traditional leaders, and professionals were all in attendance, demanding meaningful action to improve access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
Speakers at the gathering highlighted the alarming state of the country’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector, which remains dangerously underfunded and heavily dependent on international donors. According to a petition presented during the event, at least 1.3 million Liberians—roughly one in every four people—still lack access to clean water. Even more troubling, an estimated 4.1 million citizens live without proper toilets, and nearly 90 percent of households do not have the facilities needed to wash their hands at home, exposing families to preventable diseases.
“We are in the midst of a silent public health emergency,” a youth speaker declared. “Too many of our people are dying because the state has not prioritized access to clean water and sanitation.”
Despite the government’s development targets—including a pledge to increase safely managed water access to 65 percent and eliminate open defecation by 2029—progress has been sluggish. The World Bank estimates that Liberia must invest at least $201 million each year, representing about 8.33 percent of its GDP, to meet these goals. Yet the government’s current contribution to the WASH sector stands at a mere 4.3 percent, with 96 percent of the sector’s funding coming from foreign aid.
In a formal document known as the Montserrado Declaration, participants petitioned both the National Legislature and President Joseph N. Boakai, Sr., calling for decisive and immediate measures. Among their demands were increased domestic financing for WASH, renewed efforts to attract grants and concessional loans to complete stalled projects, and sweeping institutional reforms aimed at improving accountability and efficiency. They also urged the government to embed WASH priorities within County Development Agendas, prioritize unfinished WASH infrastructure in the 2025 national budget, and formally establish a standalone Ministry of Water and Sanitation through the signing of the Liberia WASH Compact 2.0.
The group acknowledged and praised President Boakai’s recent Executive Order 146, which exempts the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation from paying customs duties on key imported materials—a move they described as a positive step toward easing some of the logistical barriers that hamper service delivery. However, they stressed that far more must be done to address the deep-rooted challenges that plague the sector.
Receiving the petition on behalf of the Legislature, Representative Thomas Goshua of the WASH Legislative Caucus commended the demonstrators for amplifying a critical national issue. He reaffirmed the caucus’s commitment to advocating for increased legislative support for the sector and acknowledged the declining support from international donors, particularly the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as a growing concern.
“This is not just a development issue—it is a matter of human dignity,” said Goshua. “As lawmakers, we must step up and ensure that clean water and sanitation become central pillars of our national development agenda.”
Discussion about this post