African Development Bank: A Trusted Partner
On an official visit to the African Development Bank Group temporary headquarters in Tunis, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf participated in a two-day meeting on the African Development Fund replenishment from February 21-22, 2013.
In an address to the Bank's Board of Directors, Johnson Sirleaf emphasized the need to increase funding to fragile states, calling on the AfDB to adjust its strategy in this regard.
"The African Development Bank has always been a first-rate financial institution," the Liberian President told an audience of female Bank Staff the day after the Board meeting. "It is the best advocate for Africa in achieving the MDGs."
With regret that "women must work harder to attain excellence," Johnson Sirleaf said "the lives of women, particularly those from Fragile States must be transformed. I ask that you seek new approaches to solving the challenges facing the African continent."
Johnson Sirleaf also took the opportunity to praise an AfDB project in Monrovia, the Liberian capital, which received 1.2 million euros in financing from the African Water Facility. The AWF project aims to increase access to sustainable and affordable sanitation and hygiene services to over 800,000 urban slum-dwellers in Monrovia. The project is expected to be launched by the end of April.
