As Liberia celebrates its Bicentennial marking the founding of the country with the return of freed black African slaves from America in 1822, the visiting United States Presidential delegation and the Liberian government today, Monday signed a US$55 million bilateral agreement to improve the country’s health sector.
A US Embassy press release on February 14, 2020 said the head of the U.S. delegation, the Honorable Dana Banks, Special Assistant to President Joe Biden and Senior Director for Africa at the National Security Council unveiled the package when she met with Liberian President George Manneh Weah and the Liberian Ministers of Health and Foreign Affairs to commemorate the longstanding partnership between the US and Liberia.
The release says Ms. Banks marked the launch of a bilateral agreement of approximately US$55 million to improve the health of Liberians over the next five years.
“Known as the Health Partnership, this agreement demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to strengthening health systems; combatting malaria; advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights; maternal, neonatal, and child health; and accelerating efforts towards universal health coverage. Together, we seek to stimulate Government of Liberia health systems and improve maternal, newborn and child health, family planning and reproductive health, and malaria service delivery; improve the quality of health services at the point of care; increase institutional access to water, sanitation and hygiene; and decentralize health governance for marginalized rural populations in focus counties,” the US Embassy’s press release said.
It said the Health Partnership also supports the Government of Liberia’s Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (2018-2023).
Initially, the US presidential delegation to the bicentennial celebration was slated to have been headed by the American Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
But international news reports over the weekend quoted a spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the UN as saying: “Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield will remain in New York to engage in diplomacy related to Russia’s escalating military build-up on Ukraine’s borders.”