The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says Child Mortality in Liberia remains high. “Under-five mortality remains high at 93 deaths per 1,000 live births.”
Despite a national budget of over $850 million for Fiscal Year 2025 and growing political will, child survival in Liberia remains a pressing concern.
The latest report by UNICEF reveals that under-five mortality in Liberia remains alarmingly high at 93 deaths per 1,000 live births, ranking among the worst globally.
The report comes as calls to invest in the next generation heighten. For many children in Liberia, the current statistics show that urgent and concrete action is needed to turn pledges into meaningful change.
Stark Realities amid Budget Commitments
The FY2025 national budget allocates $7 million for school expansion and digital learning, $14 million for hospital upgrades, and social protection for 25,000 vulnerable households.
However, the report highlights persistent gaps in child well-being indicators:
30% of children under five suffer from stunting due to chronic malnutrition.
50.1% of school-age children remain out of school.
Only 66% of children under five are registered at birth.
Execution of child-focused budget allocations averages just 24% at the county level.
70% of social sector funding still comes from external partners, with a domestic tax-to-GDP ratio lingering at just 13%.
“These are not just numbers. These are lives. The high under-five mortality rate is a wake-up call for urgent reform,” the report warns.
Turning Ambition into Action: The AAID Framework
To respond, UNICEF is urging the full integration of the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID 2025–2029) into Liberia’s planning and budget systems.
The plan sets bold national targets to halve under-five mortality by 2029, bringing the rate down from 93 to 47 deaths per 1,000 live births-while also reducing maternal mortality to 440 per 100,000 live births.
Other child survival goals under the AAID include:
Expanding Universal Health Coverage from 45% to 80%, and increasing life expectancy to 63 years.
Improving coverage of RMNCAH+N (Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition) services by 40%.
Raising exclusive breastfeeding rates by 10 percentage points
“These targets are achievable—but only if we invest now, particularly in community-based care, rural outreach, and functional referral systems,” said Mostafa Omar, Communication Specialist at UNICEF Liberia.
A Whole-of-Government Approach
UNICEF is calling for a “whole-of-government” approach that includes:
Embedding child health targets into every ministry’s expenditure framework, public scorecards to track AAID progress quarterly, A dedicated children’s budget line under the national budget, Community and youth engagement to ensure transparency and accountability.
Safe Water, Child Protection, and Inclusion
The report also outlines targets for safe water and sanitation, child protection, and inclusion.
These include: Reaching 65% of the population with safely managed water by 2029, Eliminating open defecation, ensuring 90% of health facilities meet WASH standards, Eradicating child marriage and reducing gender-based violence by 10%.
Ensuring 50% of leadership roles are held by women and increasing employment of persons with disabilities by 10%.
A Collective Commitment
“This year’s Day of the African Child must go beyond rhetoric,” the report states. “It must be a rallying call to place children at the heart of Liberia’s development.”
UNICEF urges the government, civil society, donors, and citizens to honor the spirit of Soweto with budgets that build a more just, equitable, and thriving Liberia for every child.
