Liberia: A Catalyst for Progress

Since 1977, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has stood alongside Liberia through periods of conflict, recovery, and renewal, supporting the country's efforts to build resilient institutions, inclusive growth, and lasting peace. As the UN's global development network, UNDP works closely with the Government and people of Liberia to advance the Sustainable Development Goals and implement national priorities under the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development, in alignment with the UN Cooperation Framework. UNDP's engagement goes beyond policy support. It focuses on delivering practical solutions that strengthen governance, expand economic opportunities, protect natural capital, and invest in human potential. Central to this approach is a strong commitment to inclusion, ensuring that children, youth, women, and persons with disabilities are not only beneficiaries of development, but active participants and drivers of Liberia's transformation.

1.) Could you share some information about yourself and your background as the UNDP Resident Representative?

Thank you for the opportunity to engage with IF Magazine and its readers.

I currently serve as the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Liberia, where I lead UNDP's strategic engagement in direct support of the Government's ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. A core part of my mandate is to help Liberia unlock its vast potential in minerals, natural capital, and strategic resources in a way that delivers inclusive growth, protects the environment, and benefits present and future generations.

My professional journey spans more than two decades of development leadership across Africa and internationally, combining policy design, operational delivery, and high-level political engagement. Prior to my appointment in Liberia, I served as UNDP Resident Representative in Togo and Cameroon, where I worked closely with governments, civil society, and the private sector to advance governance reforms, peace-building, social cohesion, and inclusive economic transformation. Earlier in my career, I held the position of UNDP Regional Team Leader for Africa on Climate Change, Resilience, and Energy, providing strategic guidance to development interventions across more than 30 African countries, particularly on climate adaptation, energy access, resilience building, and sustainable financing.

In Liberia, my role includes supporting the Government to create a more conducive environment for sustainable and responsible investment, especially in sectors such as mining, forestry, agriculture, energy, and infrastructure. This involves strengthening policies and institutions, improving transparency and accountability, and helping design and mobilize innovative and green financing mechanisms, including climate finance, blended finance, nature-based solutions, and private-sector partnerships, to ensure that Liberia's resource wealth is transformed into lasting human development outcomes.

In addition to my international development experience, I bring a perspective shaped by direct political engagement. In 2024, I was a presidential candidate, placing third out of nineteen candidates in a competitive national election. This experience deepened my understanding of citizen expectations, democratic accountability, and the critical importance of translating policy ambition into tangible improvements in people's lives.

Across all my roles, I have remained deeply committed to people-centered development, with a strong focus on youth, women, children, and persons with disabilities. In Liberia, my role is both technical and convening: supporting national institutions to operationalize the ARREST Agenda; unlocking sustainable investment and green financing opportunities; mobilizing partnerships; and positioning UNDP as a trusted partner that helps translate Liberia's immense potential into inclusive, resilient, and sustainable development for all Liberians.

2.) Please outline examples that UNDP has achieved in developing inclusive political processes, diversifying the economy, strengthening institutions, managing resources, addressing land issues, and enhancing health and education.

Let me begin by expressing my deep appreciation to the UNDP Liberia team, whose dedication, professionalism, and resilience make this work possible every day. I am equally grateful to the Government of Liberia for its leadership and partnership, and to our long-standing and trusted donors, particularly the European Union, Sweden, Ireland, the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environment Facility, whose confidence in Liberia and in UNDP has translated into sustained impact on the ground.

For me, UNDP's work in Liberia has always been about one simple question: does it make institutions work better for people? Across democracy, justice, the economy, climate resilience, and service delivery, our focus has been on strengthening the systems that quietly, but decisively, shape everyday life. We have supported inclusive and credible electoral processes by strengthening the institutional capacity of the National Elections Commission (NEC) across electoral cycles, while investing deeply in civic and voter education so that women, young people, persons with disabilities, and rural communities are not just voters, but informed and confident participants in democratic life. Beyond elections, we have taken a system-wide approach to the rule of law, working with the Supreme Court of Liberia, the Ministry of Justice, the Liberia National Bar Association, and law-enforcement institutions to strengthen judicial independence, reduce case backlogs, expand access to justice, and promote human-rights-compliant, community-oriented policing. These efforts are about rebuilding trust between citizens and the institutions meant to serve them.

At the same time, we have worked to support economic transformation that creates opportunity where it matters most. UNDP is helping Liberia diversify its economy and create jobs by supporting youth- and women-led MSMEs, strengthening agricultural and agri-business value chains, and fostering partnerships with the private sector that unlock finance and market access. This is complemented by our work on public-sector reform, anti-corruption, and digital transformation, because a dynamic private sector needs capable, transparent public institutions. Flagship initiatives such as the UNIPOD as an Innovation and Digital Hub at the University of Liberia, the country's first Liberia Tech Summit, and growing investments in digital and AI-ready skills reflect our conviction that Liberia's future competitiveness will be built on human capital, innovation, and technology. In parallel, UNDP has supported Liberia to mobilize climate finance through the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Global Environment Facility (GEF), delivering coastal protection, climate-smart agriculture, sustainable natural-resource management, and the operationalization of community land rights, anchoring natural capital as a foundation for inclusive, resilient growth.

What I see as particularly transformative, however, is our work on innovative financing, decentralization, and local delivery. Working closely with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, UNDP has supported the Government to advance an Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) helping align Liberia's development ambitions with diversified, realistic, and sustainable sources of finance. This framework brings together public budgets, private investment, climate finance, development partners, and diaspora resources into a coherent whole, strengthening fiscal planning and evidence-based decision-making at the highest level. At the same time, our support to decentralization and the implementation of County Development Agendas is helping ensure that national priorities translate into real investments at the local level, strengthening accountability, citizen participation, and service delivery in counties and communities.

Finally, through the Accelerated Community Development Programme (ACDP), co-financed with the Government, we are translating policy into tangible results across seven counties, improving access to safe water, strengthening farmers' cooperatives, rehabilitating critical health infrastructure such as Voinjama Hospital, and investing in vocational and digital skills for young people and women. Together with our work with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to improve the business environment and crowd in private investment, these efforts reflect a deliberate shift, from financing projects to financing transformation. It is about ensuring that Liberia's development agenda is not only well designed, but sustainably funded, locally owned, and capable of delivering lasting impact, today, and for generations to come.

3.) The UNDP 2026-2030 Country Plan proposes building trust, sustaining peace, and strengthening the rule of law. What initiatives support these goals?

When we began shaping the 2026-2030 Country Programme, I was guided by a simple conviction: development only succeeds when people trust institutions, feel protected by the rule of law, and see real opportunities for their future. That is why the programme is built around three deeply connected priorities, human capital development; inclusive governance, peace, and justice; and economic transformation anchored in environmental sustainability. Together, they reflect our belief that lasting progress in Liberia depends on capable people, credible institutions, and an economy that works for both today and tomorrow.

At the heart of the programme is human capital. Liberia's greatest asset is its people, particularly its young population, and our role is to help unlock that potential. We are investing in education, vocational and digital skills, and school-to-work transitions so that young women and men can participate meaningfully in economic and public life.

At the same time, we are strengthening the systems behind service delivery, health, education, and social protection, so that access to basic services is not determined by geography or income. By improving quality, reach, and effectiveness, we aim to reduce inequalities while laying the foundation for productivity, dignity, and social cohesion.

Equally central is inclusive governance, peace, and the rule of law, because trust between citizens and the state cannot be taken for granted, it must be built and renewed. UNDP is supporting community-based peace-building, local dialogue, and conflict-prevention mechanisms, while strengthening national capacities for mediation and early warning.

We are working across formal and traditional justice systems to expand access to justice and ensure that institutions are fair, responsive, and human-rights-compliant. Accountability and anti-corruption are integral to this effort, supported through stronger oversight institutions, an empowered civil society, and digital solutions that enhance transparency. Decentralization remains a cornerstone of our approach, ensuring that counties and communities are not passive recipients of decisions, but active participants in shaping their own development.

The third pillar, economic transformation and environmental sustainability, reflects our determination to move Liberia toward an economy that creates jobs without eroding its natural foundations. We are supporting MSMEs, youth entrepreneurship, and value-chain development to generate inclusive growth, while helping the country unlock innovative and sustainable financing.

At the same time, we are investing in climate resilience, renewable energy, and natural capital management, recognizing that forests, land, and ecosystems are not constraints, but strategic assets. Aligning economic ambition with environmental stewardship is essential if Liberia is to reduce vulnerability to shocks and secure prosperity for future generations.

Taken together, this Country Programme represents more than a set of interventions. It is a shared vision for Liberia's next chapter, investing in people, rebuilding trust, sustaining peace, and transforming the economy in a way that is inclusive, resilient, and just.

5.) You supported Liberia's EPA during COP30 in Brazil. What were your key experiences and takeaways, particularly from the Amazon?

Participating in COP30 in Brazil was both professionally enriching and personally moving, but it was traveling along the Amazon River that truly stayed with me. Beyond its breathtaking beauty, the Amazon is a living system, one that sustains millions of people, regulates global climate patterns, and stores vast amounts of carbon. Seeing, firsthand, both its extraordinary richness and its growing vulnerability brought home a simple but powerful truth: when ecosystems collapse, livelihoods collapse with them. The climate crisis is not a distant or abstract threat; it is already reshaping lives, economies, and futures.

For Liberia, several lessons from COP30 and the Amazon experience resonated deeply. The first is that nature must be treated as a strategic and economic asset, not as a constraint to development. In the Amazon, it was clear how forests underpin food systems, water security, health, energy, and local economies. Liberia's forests and biodiversity play a similar role. Integrating natural capital into development planning, through natural capital accounting, ecosystem valuation, and evidence-based policy, is no longer optional. It is foundational to sustainable growth and long-term resilience.

A second lesson is the urgency of climate finance that moves faster and at scale, particularly for adaptation. One of the strongest messages from forest and vulnerable countries at COP30 was the persistent gap between global commitments and resources reaching communities on the ground. Adaptation finance remains insufficient, slow, and overly complex. Countries like Liberia, which have contributed little to global emissions yet face disproportionate climate risks, need predictable, accessible, and concessional financing to protect ecosystems, strengthen resilience, and safeguard livelihoods.

Third, COP30 reaffirmed that agri-food systems sit at the heart of the climate-development nexus. In the Amazon, we saw how climate-smart agriculture, agroforestry, and sustainable value chains can reduce deforestation, create jobs, and improve food security at the same time. This has direct relevance for Liberia, where transforming agriculture through climate-resilient practices can increase rural incomes, reduce pressure on forests, and address youth unemployment, while strengthening national food security.

Perhaps the most powerful lesson of all was the central role of communities. Indigenous peoples and local communities in the Amazon are among the most effective stewards of forests anywhere in the world. Their knowledge, rights, and leadership are indispensable. Liberia faces a similar imperative: empowering communities through secure land rights, inclusive governance, and fair benefit-sharing is essential to sustaining forests and rebuilding trust between citizens and the state.

These reflections are already shaping UNDP's support to Liberia. They are informing our work on environmental governance reform, community forestry, green and nature-based jobs, sustainable agri-food value chains, and innovative climate and biodiversity finance. COP30 reaffirmed a conviction I hold strongly: protecting nature is not in opposition to development, it is the pathway to a more resilient, inclusive, and prosperous future.

COP30 also offered Liberia a historic moment to demonstrate this vision in action. The official launch of the Liberia Natural Capital Account and the "Natural Wonders of Liberia" initiative positioned the country among a growing group of nations redefining development by recognizing nature as a core pillar of national wealth.

The Natural Capital Account showed, through data and evidence, how Liberia's forests, wetlands, minerals, and biodiversity contribute to GDP, livelihoods, climate resilience, and long-term economic stability, strengthening the case for integrating nature into fiscal policy and investment planning. Complementing this, Natural Wonders of Liberia celebrated the country's unique ecosystems and cultural landscapes, elevating their global visibility and unlocking opportunities for eco-tourism, green investment, and community-based enterprises. Launching these initiatives at COP30 sent a clear message: Liberia is not only a forest country to be protected, but also a forward-looking nation using science, policy innovation, and partnerships to turn natural capital into inclusive and sustainable prosperity.

6.) Is there anything else you would like to mention?

I would like to sincerely thank IF Magazine for the opportunity to share UNDP's work and reflections on Liberia's development journey. I am equally grateful to the Government of Liberia for the trust it has placed in UNDP and for the strong, constructive partnership that underpins everything we do. My appreciation also goes to all our development partners, bilateral and multilateral institutions, the private sector, civil society, and communities, whose commitment and collaboration make our programmes and projects possible.

As we look ahead, I remain deeply hopeful. Liberia's potential is immense, its people are resilient, and the foundations for transformation are being steadily laid. With continued partnership, shared responsibility, and collective resolve, I am confident that the country can accelerate its progress and build a future that is inclusive, sustainable, and worthy of the aspirations of its people.

Conducted By: Hon. Dr. Cynthia L. Blandford, Editor-in-Chief & CFO, International Focus Magazine**

**International Focus Magazine shared this interview with the Daily Observer as part of a partnership.

Read the original article on Liberian Observer.

Liberia: A Catalyst for Progress

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