Published: December 5, 2025
Executive Director of the Initiative for Women and Youth Empowerment (IWYE), Musu W. Davis
MONROVIA – The Executive Director of the Initiative for Women and Youth Empowerment (IWYE), Musu W. Davis, is calling on the government to significantly boost funding for family planning programs, warning that the current budget remains a mere “peanut” in the face of a national crisis marked by rising teenage pregnancies.
Davis Advocates for Increased Investment in Family Planning
Madam Davis called on the Legislature to substantially expand the Family Planning (FP) budget allocation in the Ministry of Health’s FY2026 budget as lawmakers consider the spending details. She emphasized that the current budget is far too small to address the concerning rise in unplanned pregnancies, particularly among teenage girls.
While she acknowledged the government’s previous increment—from US$50,000 to US$75,000—she insisted the increase is inadequate when compared with regional standards. “Go and visit Bong County, for example,” she said in an interview. “The rising number of teenage pregnancies has overwhelmed health care workers. We need the government to support priorities or essentials for the future of this country. Not this peanut of an allotment.”
According to her, Liberia’s future depends on protecting young girls who are “falling prey to teenage pregnancies and dropping out of school in their numbers.” Rising teenage pregnancy rates are causing national concern. Davis described a heartbreaking trend: girls as young as 13 and 14 arriving at health facilities for maternal care. “Across this country, the phrase ‘pregnant women’ has now changed to ‘pregnant girls,’” she lamented. “Most of the people you see rushing to health centers are girls between 13 and 14 years old. Does anyone think this is normal? Hell no!”
A recent media report revealed that 75% of births at the Foequelleh Maternal Waiting Home in Bong County involve girls aged 13 to 14. C.B. Dunbar and Phebe hospitals recorded 3,592 teenage pregnancies between 2022 and 2024. Health actors warn that without decisive government intervention, rural health systems may collapse under the weight of unmet reproductive health needs.
USAID Cuts Increase Pressure on Health Sector Davis further emphasized the devastating effect of reduced U.S. aid. Liberia, she pointed out, has traditionally received nearly 2.6% of America’s gross national income in support, the highest share for any partner nation. However, the country now faces an estimated US$290 million reduction in aid that previously funded health, education, and other vital sectors. She mentioned that health facilities are struggling with shortages of medicines, supplies, and funding, while many rural health workers remain unpaid and unmotivated, leading to the closure of essential programs. “These numbers reflect a full-blown national emergency,” Davis stressed, linking the crisis to limited access to contraceptives, high unmet FP needs—33% among women and even higher among teenagers—and widespread school dropout.
Call for Urgent Action
Madam Davis urged lawmakers to act decisively during the ongoing budget hearings. “Visit rural communities’ health centers and see how high and alarming this is,” she warned. “Health workers are not motivated by low wages, lack of support, and poor infrastructure. Do we sit and do nothing? We must speak out and engage the government responsibly. Liberia is all we have.” She argued that meaningful investment in family planning would directly reduce teenage pregnancies, empower young people, and strengthen national development. “What puts the country forward is when girls are educated and empowered to make informed decisions about their bodies,” she said. “When young girls can access contraceptives and basic health services. Because unplanned pregnancies only deepen a nation’s poverty.”
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