Every year, Liberia joins the rest of the world on April 7th to commemorate World Health Day, which marks the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) and serves as an opportunity to raise awareness on pressing health issues. Under the theme “Healthy beginnings, Hopeful futures”, the national observance took place in Bentol City, Montserrado County, bringing together government officials, international partners, health professionals, students and community members to advocate for investment and collective action in maternal and newborn health.

The inaugural event commenced with a health walk followed by the launch of the year-long campaign on maternal and newborn health. Reiterating the Regional Director’s message, WHO Liberia Officer in Charge, Dr Abdullahi Sule reminded that “Despite progress in recent decades, maternal and newborn deaths remain a critical challenge.  Nearly 300 000 women die globally each year due to pregnancy or childbirth-related causes. In addition, 2.3 million babies die within their first month of life, and 1.9 million are stillborn – losses that are concentrated in low-income countries and fragile settings, primarily in the WHO African Region.”

In Liberia, for every 1000 women who give birth, seven die from pregnancy-related causes such as postpartum hemorrhage, sepsis, eclampsia and up to 37 babies born alive die in their first month of life. These figures remain one of the highest in the sub-Saharan region, highlighting a significant need for continued and intensified efforts. In 2024, the Government of Liberia redeclared the burden of maternal deaths a Public Health Emergency, calling for renewed accelerated appropriate interventions to urgently curb these preventable maternal and newborn deaths in the country.

“Addressing this crisis is a collective responsibility. The path to reducing newborn and maternal mortality is multifaceted and requires a comprehensive approach that tackles healthcare access, education, socio-economic conditions and cultural contexts including gender dimensions and reproductive rights,” said The Senate President Pro-Tempore, Hon. Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence, keynote speaker at the commemoration event. “On this World Health Day, the theme ‘Healthy beginnings and hopeful futures’ is not merely a slogan, but a vision that compels all of us to act urgently and with compassion,” she added.

The Maternal and Newborn Health Co-Champion in Liberia and Chair of the Senate Health Committee, Hon. Dabah M. Varpilah also urged the government, development partners, healthcare professionals to work together to make “Healthy beginnings, Hopeful futures” possible, highlighting that “Funding challenges for maternal and newborn health, such as dependency on external donor support make service delivery vulnerable to shifts in donor priority. In addition, service quality and accessibility remain a challenge particularly in rural and underserved communities where healthcare infrastructures and trained professionals are largely scarce,” she emphasized. “We have no time to delay our action. We need to increase our health budget, work closely with WHO and health partners, and develop an innovative domestic resource mobilization scheme,” She concluded.

The commemoration event also saw the attendance of the Office of the First Lady who is the Maternal and Newborn Health Champion in Liberia, the United Nations country team, represented by the UN Resident Coordinator, various government ministries and health partners, including major hospitals. Following the campaign launch, a series of activities will be carried out including outreach to students and midwives to raise awareness on maternal and newborn health issues.