Published: September 15, 2025
MONROVIA – Liberia’s First Lady Kartumu Yarta Boakai has called on the international community to rally behind Liberia in addressing its severe health challenges, warning that the country’s fragile healthcare system cannot recover without strong global partnerships.
Speaking on Sunday, September 15, 2025, at a dinner themed “Reframing Health Equity” during the TUFH 2025 Global Health Conference in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, Mrs. Boakai told an audience of global health leaders, NGOs, academics, and philanthropists that Liberia is still struggling with the aftershocks of war and years of systemic neglect.
“We are recovering from the trauma of war and also from the echoing differences of systems too long neglected,” she said. “I have looked into the eyes of teenage mothers. I have comforted parents who lost children to preventable diseases. I asked myself: ‘How can we sit comfortably in our positions and pretend we don’t hear these cries?’ I could not.”
The Liberian First Lady announced an ambitious four-million US dollar Multi-Purpose Village project spearheaded by her Kartumu Yarta Boakai (KYB) Foundation. The initiative is designed to provide integrated services in maternal and child health, mental wellness, addiction recovery, and vocational training, with a strong emphasis on supporting vulnerable women, youth, and individuals living with autism and special needs.
“We cannot build it alone,” Mrs. Boakai emphasized. “We need partners, builders, and believers. Help us make this Village a reality.”
The First Lady highlighted alarming mortality rates despite ongoing national and international interventions. She pointed to potential collaboration with institutions like the Mollie Woods Hare Global Center of Excellence as critical in bridging gaps in Liberia’s healthcare delivery.
The Network Towards Unity for Health (TUFH) 2025 Global Health Conference, which convened stakeholders from around the world, centered on reframing equity in healthcare, especially in low-resource settings. The conference served as a platform for countries like Liberia to amplify their health struggles and seek innovative partnerships.
Mrs. Boakai framed her address not merely as a statement of Liberia’s challenges, but as an invitation for collaboration. “I did not come tonight only to tell Liberia’s story,” she said. “I came to ask you to become part of it.”
She urged the audience to see Liberia’s plight as an opportunity to build what she described as a “global covenant of care,” a collective commitment to ensure that vulnerable populations are not left behind.
The First Lady’s remarks drew attention to the wider context of global health disparities, particularly in post-conflict nations struggling to build resilient systems. Her appeal underscored the urgency of investing in sustainable health infrastructures that address both immediate and long-term needs.
With Liberia still facing high maternal and infant mortality rates, frequent disease outbreaks, and limited infrastructure, Mrs. Boakai’s message resonated with the conference’s overarching theme that global health equity requires shared responsibility.
As the dinner concluded, participants engaged in discussions on how partnerships with Liberia could be shaped in practical terms, including technical support, funding, and collaborative programs. Many attendees welcomed the First Lady’s initiative as a concrete example of leadership in action, bridging humanitarian concerns with practical solutions.
For Mrs. Boakai, the night was not about sentiment alone but about mobilizing action. Her vision of a Multi-Purpose Village stands as a call to transform compassion into tangible results. “This is not just about Liberia,” she said. “It is about humanity. It is about the future we all share.”
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