Quick Facts:

• Population: 4.4 million
• Population living below $1.25/day: 83.8%
• Life expectancy: 60.9
• Infant mortality (per thousand live births): 53.6
• Age 5 and under mortality (per thousand under 5 children): 71.1
• Maternal mortality rate (deaths per 100,000 live births): 640
• Literacy rate: 42.9%
• Females with at least some secondary education: 15.4%

Due to the Ebola outbreak, our programs were suspended, altered, and enhanced all at the same time. Despite this, we made great progress in our water, hygeine, education, nutrition, gender equality, and livelihoods work.

What we’re doing:

2014 was a remarkable year for Concern in Liberia. Due to the Ebola outbreak, our programs were suspended, altered, and enhanced all at the same time. Despite this, we made great progress in our water, hygeine, education, nutrition, gender equality, and livelihoods work. When schools were closed due to the crisis, we worked with Liberia’s Ministry of Education to develop activities like radio broadcasts to help children learn at home.

While helping communites build and manage water systems and sanitation facilities, we also leveraged our hygeine messaging and trained health workers and volunteers to inform people about how to prevent the spread of Ebola. Though the disease was crippling the country, we still worked with farmer field schools, a train-the-trainer approach to teaching efficient agricultural methods, in 23 communities to improve crop production, food security, nutrition, and income. As we look forward into 2015 and the country recovers, we will refocus on our programs while also addressing the needs of Ebola survivors and the possibility of future outbreaks.