Liberia

THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA is located in western Africa along the north Atlantic Ocean. In this nation of 3,482,211 people, 80 percent live on less than $1 a day and 52 percent live in extreme poverty; 85 percent are unemployed. The economy is largely dependent on subsistence agriculture, in which women provide most of the labor.

Out of all countries in the world, Liberia has the worst record on health and nutritional indicators. That only 10 percent of the population have access to adequate healthcare is largely because of the destruction of most healthcare facilities outside the capital city of Monrovia. In all likelihood, poverty in Liberia is even more extensive than it appears because data on key social and economic indicators are absent.

Throughout the 1990s, Liberia was devastated by a 14-year civil war and a long history of government mismanagement and human rights abuses. In 1991, at the invitation of both sides of the Liberian conflict, the Carter Center of Emory University, known worldwide for its success in negotiating peace and easing human suffering, opened an office in Monrovia.

By 2000, reports of human atrocities had grown so extensive that former president Jimmy Carter elected to close the office. In 2003, with assistance from United Nations peacekeeping forces, 100,000 armed combatants were disarmed. A coalition government, composed of members from both sides of the conflict, was elected and given the challenge of restoring political and economic stability to Liberia. They have been only partially successful. In this low-income, severely indebted nation, annual per capita income is $140, and one out of every six individuals survives on international food aid.

With a life expectancy of 47.69 years and a median age of 18.06, only 3.7 percent of the population live to reach the age of 65. Individuals have a 47.2 chance of not surviving until the age of 40. Some 43.6 percent of all Liberians are under the age of 14. Poverty and a malfunctioning infrastructure continue to be a way of life, and excessive death and mortality rates drain the government of needed resources. These high rates, which are consequences of poverty and high incidences of preventable diseases, have placed Liberia 43 out of 46 sub-Saharan nations in death rates.

Liberia's HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 5.9 has resulted in the deaths of some 7,200 people. Unofficial estimates place the prevalence rate at 20 percent in some areas. By 2003 some 100,000 Liberians were living with HIV/AIDS, and tens of thousands of others had been affected by the epidemic. Efforts to educate the public about prevention have been threatened by the low literacy rate. The Liberian population is also susceptible to a number of foodand waterborne diseases such as bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever. In some areas, malaria and yellow fever have also taken a toll. Schistosomiasis, caused by contact with infected water, and Lassa fever, caused by contact with aerosolized dust or soil, are also common, particularly among the poorest people.

In Liberia, 128.87 infants die out of every 1,000 who are born. In 2003 the rate was even higher at 157, and mortality of those under the age of 5 was reported at 235. Some 27 percent of all children under the age of 5 are malnourished, and eight percent are severely underweight.

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