Published: November 26, 2025
MONROVIA, Liberia — The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Liberian government, and a coalition of national stakeholders are warning that no girl in Liberia should ever be denied her education because of pregnancy. Speaking at a national dialogue focused on pregnant school-going adolescents, UNFPA Deputy Representative Leonard Kamugisha stressed that motherhood must never be used as an educational barrier.
“Motherhood should never be treated as a barrier to learning, and no adolescent girl should be forced to choose between her future and her present circumstances,” Kamugisha said Tuesday at a local hotel in Monrovia.
The dialogue centered on the National Girls’ Education Policy (NGEP), which envisions a society free of gender disparities and an education system where all children have equal access to quality learning.
A National Call to Protect Girls’ Rights
Organizers said the objective of the NGEP is to guide and promote affirmative actions that reduce gender inequality in Liberia’s schools. Kamugisha noted that ensuring pregnant girls remain in school is not only a human rights obligation but a development imperative.
As the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA believes that safeguarding girls’ education is tied to national progress. Kamugisha cautioned that when girls are excluded, the entire system deteriorates.
“When we allow girls to fall through the cracks, we compromise the entire education system; but when we keep them in school, we protect the nation’s human capital,” he said. “Our collective responsibility is to dismantle this barrier immediately and decisively.”
Comprehensive Sexuality Education as Prevention
Kamugisha emphasized that preventing unintended pregnancies begins with accurate, age-appropriate information.
“The first and most powerful line of defense against unplanned pregnancy is comprehensive, age-appropriate, and accurate information,” he said.
He called for the full integration of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) into school curricula. According to him, CSE equips young people with factual knowledge about human development, reproductive health, gender equality, and skills for building healthy relationships.
Evidence, he added, shows that girls who receive timely reproductive health information are more likely to avoid unintended pregnancy, stay in school, perform better academically, and transition into jobs and livelihoods.
Bridging Schools and Youth-Friendly Health Services
Kamugisha urged a stronger linkage between schools and youth-friendly health facilities to ensure students access reproductive health services without stigma.
“Education without health is incomplete; health without education is unsustainable,” he said.
He argued that excluding pregnant girls from school is equivalent to “punishing them twice”—first for a pregnancy often linked to coercion or lack of information, and again by denying them education.
“This is not just about compassion—it is about fairness, justice, and effective national development,” he said.
He reaffirmed UNFPA’s support for the Ministry of Education’s efforts to adopt and enforce policies that allow pregnant adolescents and young mothers to remain in school. But he stressed that policy alone is insufficient without supportive school environments.
“Exclusion, whether deliberate or subtle, must be eliminated,” Kamugisha said.
Ending Stigma: A Community Responsibility
The UNFPA Deputy Representative called for national unity in reducing stigma against pregnant students by engaging teachers, parents, school administrators, traditional leaders, and communities.
He also recommended clear guidelines for schools, including flexible learning schedules, referral pathways for health and psychosocial support, and strict protections against gender-based violence.
“Today’s National Dialogue is a powerful reminder that the future of girls’ education in Liberia is not the responsibility of any single institution,” Kamugisha said. “It is a collective mission.”
Education Minister Jallah: Move From Acknowledgment to Accountability
Delivering special remarks, Education Minister Dr. Jarso M. Jallah said national conversations must translate into real commitments.
“Today, our responsibility is to shape a path forward grounded in lived realities, not assumptions,” she said.
Dr. Jallah emphasized the need for trained school leaders, gender-responsive teachers, reliable data tracking, and stronger coordination between schools, clinics, and social service providers.
She noted that while policies matter, cultural attitudes must change.
“Stigma cannot be dismantled by policies alone,” she said. “It is changed through continuous engagement with parents, traditional leaders, religious institutions, youth networks, and the very girls whose voices are too often absent.”
‘You Are Not the Problem’ — Message to Young Mothers
Addressing young mothers directly, Dr. Jallah said their education is a constitutional right.
“You are not here to be apologized for, hidden, or pitied,” she said. “You are not the problem we are trying to fix. You are the leaders, the doctors, the entrepreneurs, and the citizens we are failing to serve.”
She reaffirmed government’s commitment to making the Girls’ Education Policy a living, measurable framework.
“Liberia’s development will rise or fall on the learning, safety, and dignity of its girls,” she said.
Calling the dialogue a potential turning point, she urged stakeholders to ensure concrete outcomes.
“Let today mark not just another conversation, but a turning point for every girl,” Dr. Jallah said. “Let us agree on what will be done, who will do it, and how we will measure whether girls’ lives are actually changing.”
Discussion about this post