Liberia: Govt, UN Move to Align U.S.$874m Funding With National Priorities
MONROVIA, August 21, 2026 -- The Government of Liberia has called for stronger coordination, transparency and accountability with the United Nations Country Team to ensure an indicative US$874 million development financing envelope is aligned with national priorities and delivers measurable results for Liberians.
Deputy Minister for Economic Management at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), Dehpue Y. Zuo, made the call during a dialogue with the UN Country Team focused on strengthening cooperation and aligning development support with Liberia's national agenda.
Speaking on behalf of Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, Zuo commended the UN for its longstanding support to Liberia in peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, post-conflict recovery and development.
He said the partnership must now focus more strongly on measurable outcomes and national ownership, particularly under the Government's ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID) 2025-2029.
"Liberia values its long-standing relationship with the United Nations," Zuo said. "The financing architecture in Liberia must be firmly anchored in national priorities, sector stability and mechanisms that minimize leakages as we mobilize more diverse resources to finance our development priorities."
Zuo welcomed the alignment of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2026-2030 with the AAID, describing it as a strong foundation for enhanced cooperation.
He stressed that success should not be measured by the number of programs implemented, but by tangible improvements in the lives of Liberians, particularly women, children, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
"We expect this conversation to reinforce our national institutions, sector plans, development priorities and public-sector investment framework -- not to establish parallel institutions, but to strengthen complementary ownership and implementation," he said.
Zuo highlighted the indicative US$874 million financing envelope under the UN development cooperation framework and urged that the resources be strategically directed toward programs capable of producing significant and measurable outcomes.
He said the MFDP, through its Aid Management and Coordination Unit, will track external resources and work to ensure their alignment with national development priorities.
The Deputy Minister also identified procurement bottlenecks, fragmented implementation, weak coordination, slow recruitment, limited reporting platforms and implementation delays as challenges requiring joint attention.
He expressed concern over limited government visibility into some UN-implemented interventions and called for improved monitoring, reporting and information-sharing to ensure projects are reflected in national planning and budgeting.
As the Government prepares the 2027 National Budget, Zuo urged UN agencies to clearly identify their priority programs for 2027 and strengthen coordination mechanisms to accelerate implementation.
He said closer alignment between UN-supported programs and the national budget would improve accountability and ensure development resources produce greater benefits for Liberians.
Read the original article on New Dawn.