Liberia – Equity & Inclusion

1. Liberia – Equity & Inclusion What does it mean to be a Liberian? Dennis Pain March 2012

2. Environment in which a Liberian may live

3. The average Liberian has Liberia – Equity & Inclusion Annual Income: US$380, about half the level 30-40 years earlier Education: 3.7 years in school Probability of not surviving first year of life: 7 in 100 Probability of not surviving first 5 years of life: 11 in 100 Life expectancy: 57 Probability of having adequate access to a safe functioning water point for every 250-300 people within 1.5 miles - 2 in 5 Probability of malaria during last year: 1 in 3 (in 2010, reduced from 2 in 3 in 2005)

4. The average Liberian woman Has only 1.6 years of education and is half as likely as a man to have completed Grade 6 primary Has a probability of dying from giving birth at 5 in every 100 - worse than it was a decade or two earlier Has experienced physical violence from a husband/partner (8 out of 10) and half by a parent Is a member of the Sande secret society and experienced female genital cutting Suffers multiple control by her husband Is employed, but likely to be in agriculture or elementary occupations

5. Typically a woman: Has about 6 siblings: First had sex just after her 16th birthday, 2 years before her brother; One in seven of those having sex before age 15 were forced against their will; Married before 20, two years later than her mother, but over 4 years younger than her husband Had her first child at age 19

6. But there is no such thing as an average Liberian woman! It depends on where she is born and lives: Depends on whether she lives around Monrovia and other towns or in a rural area Depends on the county where she lives Depends on how wealthy is her household

7. A wealthier Monrovian woman’s life story: Six times as likely to have been born by choice; Slightly more likely to have a nutritionally healthy mother and nearly twice as likely to have been protected against neo-natal tetanus; BUT more likely to be malnourished (weight for height) in infancy!! Yet almost half as likely to be stunted (height for age); Four times as likely to receive all basic vaccines; Ten times as likely to have completed Primary 6; Less likely to be employed, but it will be in a skilled job; Four times as likely to give birth in a health facility; BUT about 5 times as likely to be HIV +ve;

8. Another Liberian woman from a poor household in a border county survives despite Being born at home, not a health facility; Being twice as much at risk of death as an infant; Two out of eleven not reaching their 5th birthday; Most likely never having been to school; Having to leave home to access education above Grade 3; Working in agriculture; Accepting that a husband can be justified in beating his wife

9. Overall Population & Income Poverty Head Count 9 % Lofa 276,683 Gbarpolu % 9 83,388 Grand Cape Mount % 9 127,076 % 9 Bong 9 % 333,481 Nimba Bomi % 9 462,026 84,119 Margibi % 9 1,118,241 % 9 Montserrado 209,923 Grand Bassa Percentage of population below poverty line 221,693 9 % Grand Gedeh % 9 Rivercess < 50 % 61-70 % 50-60 % > 70 % 125,258 71,509 % 9 66,789 Sinoe River Gee 9 % 102,391 9 % Grand Kru 57,913 Maryland 9 % 135,938 % 9 Source: Liberia PRS 2007

10. Population Density by Clan Areas Source: Population Census 2008

11. Average Distance to Health Facility within District Source: National Health and Social Policy Paper, MOHSW 2011

12. Maternal Deliveries for 5 years up to 2007 (LDHS 2007 Table 9.5) Percentage deliveries in a health facility Monrovia (71) Above secondary educated mother (64) Wealthiest* (70) Urban (63) 2008 Ghana (57) 1998 Cote d’Ivoire (47) Liberia (37) Rural (26) 2005 Guinea (31) Uneducated mother (28) S. East B (21) 2008 Sierra Leone (25) Poorest* (18) Category • Wealthiest/Poorest refers to highest/lowest 20% households. • Half of mothers report problems of cost of treatment (wealthiest – 37%; poorest - 74%) • and cost of transport (wealthiest – 26%; poorest – 82%). 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10

13. Mosquito Nets & Prevalence of Fever (Liberia Malaria Indicator Survey 2009 Tables 4.1) Percentage under-five children who slept under a net the previous night = Percentage of children under five with fever in two weeks preceding = Percentage under five who tested slide +ve for malaria 50 § 40 30 20 10 25.7 22.0 29.5 17.2 32.7 35.6 36.4 28.2 25.6 34.9 24.5 Bong Nimba Lofa Montserrado ( - Monrovia) Margibi Grand Bassa River Gee Grand Kru Maryl;and Bomi Grand Cape Mount Gbarpolu Rural Urban 2nd Poorest Quintile Monrovia Poorest 20% River Cess Sinoe Grand Gedeh Wealthiest 20%

14. Infant Mortality (reporting for previous decade) Probability of dying before first birthday (LDHS 2007 Table 8.1/2/3) Deaths per 1,000 live births S. Central (142) Mother age <20 (122) 2005 Guinea (≈126) 2008 Sierra Leone (≈126) Rural (99) Poorest* (100) Uneducated mother (107) Liberia (≈92) 1998 Cote d’Ivoire (≈98) Urban (78) Monrovia (69) Wealthiest* (70) Mother age 20-29 (80) Above secondary educated mother (59) 2008 Ghana (≈40) Category • Poorest/Wealthiest refers to lowest/highest 20% households (quintiles). • Note: second lowest quintile shows similar infant mortality at 105. 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20

15. Water AccessCurrent coverage, population per waterpoint and access by countyWaterpoint Atlas 2011 • Adjusted for number of taps on high-capacity waterpoints with multiple taps (e.g. kiosks)

16. Water Access and Prevalence of Diarrhea (LDHS 2007 Table 10.6) Percentage under-five children who had diarrhea in the two weeks before survey = % with Water Access 100 50 20.6 15.5 9.8 18.0 19.3 22.8 27.9 19.0 Bong Nimba Lofa Montserrado ( - Monrovia) Margibi Grand Bassa River Gee Grand Kru Maryl;and Monrovia River Cess Sinoe Grand Gedeh Poorest 20% Wealthiest 20% 20 10 Bomi Grand Cape Mount Gbarpolu

17. Stunting (LDHS 2007 Table 11.1) Percentage under-five children who were severely stunted (below – 3 SD height-for-age) % below – 3 SD 25 20 10 25.9 13.6 25.4 17.3 14.3 23.3 25.9 11.0 23.2 14.1 12.6 21.2 Bong Nimba Lofa Montserrado ( - Monrovia) Margibi Grand Bassa River Gee Grand Kru Maryl;and Bomi Grand Cape Mount Gbarpolu Rural Urban Monrovia Mother post-primary Undeucated mother Poorest 20% River Cess Sinoe Grand Gedeh Wealthiest 20%

18. Distribution of Level 1 schools (primary school only)

19. Distribution of secondary schools

20. Core Textbooks Available per 100 students in primary schools

22. 5 miles radius from Secondary School 2 County capitals Clan boundaries County boundaries Major roads Level 1 schools (primary only) Population density (person/mile sq): 0 - 50 51 - 100 101 - 500 501 - 1000 Level 3 schools (primary and secondary) > 1000 Level 2 schools(secondary only) . Town/village

23. 5 miles Radius from secondary school

24. 100 % 80 % 60 % 40 % 20 % Out of school girls Source: The 2008/2009 National School Census Report, Ministry of Education. 2010

25. Percentage Aged 15-49 Having Education of Grade 6 or above (LDHS 2007 Table 3.2.1/2) Percentage M – Wealthiest* (81) M – Monrovia (78) M – Urban (75) F – Wealthiest* (64) F – Monrovia (58) Liberia Male (55.7) F – Urban (53) 2005 - Guinea – M (48.8) Liberia (43.1) M – Rural (43) M – N. West (40) 2008 – Sierra Leone – M (41.4) M – Poorest* (31) Liberia Female (30.5) 2008 – Sierra Leone – F (24.5) 2005 - Guinea – F (22.5) F – N. Central & N. West (16) F – Rural (14) F – Poorest* (8) Category 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 * Wealthiest / Poorest 20% of households

26. So:- there is no such thing as an average Liberian! It all depends on: how well educated your mother was; whether you are male or female; whether you live around Monrovia and other towns or in a rural area; the county where you live; how wealthy is your parental household.

27. So: will things never change in Liberia? YES, they can! The President has publicly committed to: • Putting young people first and lifting the lives of all Liberians; • Paying special attention to girls; • Reducing inequities, ensuring equal opportunity and providing guarantees of social justice; • Improving quality of life for ALL citizens; • Reconciliation that depends on: • empowering youth, • creating jobs and opportunity • spreading development to all • justice in dealing with the past • justice in processes of government and law • justice in economic development

28. UNICEF is supporting Liberia’s new Poverty Reduction Strategy and Transformation Agenda UNICEF is committed to: • Protecting girls and boys from anything that harms them; • Supporting their ambitions for education and skills; • Delaying their age of marriage so they can fulfill their dreams; • Enabling young people to be at peace with themselves and their communities; • Young women having relationships and children by choice; • Improving maternal health; • Ensuring good nutrition & nurture, protected from disease, in infancy; • Ensuring that ALL children have ALL rights; • Ensuring equity in access to basic services and equal outcomes for all; • Supporting a Liberian and a Child Wellbeing Index; • Providing girls and boys, men and women with equal opportunities; • Increasing participation of women and young people in decision making

29. UNICEF THANKS YOU for your concern for Equity and Inclusion!