Liberia Rising - Vision 2030: One people, One Nation, United for Peace and Sustainable Development Liberia: Voluntary National Review on the Implementation Status of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 2020 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Liberia’s Voluntary National Review commenced alongside the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As the pandemic spread very quickly across nations of the world and of Africa, lockdowns were put in place as a containment measure. It soon became clear that the VNR process will have to be undertaken despite unprecedented challenges. This impacted the VNR process in Liberia by restricting the type and number of consultative processes. Nonetheless, with the leadership of the Ministry of Finance and Planning under the close guidance of the President’s office, the government was committed to fulfilling its mandate of completing the review process. Apart from limited virtual participation of stakeholders and detailed inputs from all government ministries, an extensive desk review was undertaken of available official documents, data, and reports. The report presents a critical analysis of institutional and systemic gaps as well as progress so far against the seventeen goals. Status of SDGs progress Even though the progress against the seventeen Goals is mixed, the overall direction of the progress has been strategic, ensuring that key levers of change are addressed. This has been ably guided by the farsighted design of the current national plan, the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development 2018 – 2023. Despite the setbacks of the Ebola outbreak and the fall in global commodity prices just before the commencement of the SDG period, the proportion of the population living below the national poverty line has declined, as has the prevalence of undernourishment. In 2015, the GDP growth rate fell to zero but has now grown to nearly 2% per annum, despite a significant drop in the volume of remittances (in United States dollars) as a proportion of total GDP. The increase in the unemployment rate is reflected in a marginal decline in manufacturing value-added as a proportion of GDP per capita. The proportion of parliament seats held by women has increased. Alongside there has been a steady decline in maternal mortality ratio, under 5 and neonatal mortality rates. Adolescent birth rate (aged 10– 14 years; aged 15–19 years) per 1,000 women in that age group has also declined. The proportion of youth (aged 15–24 years) not in education, employment or training has also declined. While the incidence of TB has not declined, though the success rate of TB treatment has gone up. There has been a marginal decline in the incidence of HIV and malaria. However, there has been a marginal increase in mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, or chronic respiratory diseases, to suicides and road traffic accidents. More people in Liberia are using safely managed drinking water services, and have access to safely managed sanitation services, including a hand-washing facility with soap and water. More people have access to electricity than before. National Legislature of Liberia ratified of the Paris Accord on Climate Change in 2018. There is a marginal increase in the coverage of protected marine areas, while the forest area as a proportion of total land area has remained unchanged. Liberia’s score on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index has dropped as has that the overall bribery rate. Surveys show that more people felt that the government was doing a good job of fighting corruption. The Local Government Act enacted in 2018, provides the legal regulatory framework for decentralization and local governance reform in Liberia. The Land Rights Act was passed in 2018, which presents a unique opportunity for promoting access to land rights, promoting land tenure security, 2 harmonizing of customary and statutory land tenure systems. Government’s approach to the principle of Leave No One Behind After 15 years of its peacekeeping mandate, on March 30, 2018, the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) completed its mission in Liberia. The Liberian people and government have been acutely aware of the repercussions of inequality and deprivation through the many years of civil strife and conflict. In this context, they approach the principle of leaving no one behind as not merely a slogan, but as central to its prosperity, peace, and growth. The current national plan connects to the SDGs with sixteen development outcomes and outlines a commitment to achieve 120 national targets until 2023. It has taken an integrated approach, connecting peace and development issues, and recognizing the interconnected nature of the challenges facing the country. One of the main strategies to incorporate ‘leave no one behind’ is to ensure that development gains are equitably spread across the country and not just concentrated in a few urban areas. This is being done through a combination of decentralization of government services, putting in place necessary land reforms, involving local communities as stakeholders in environmental protection, improving the network of infrastructure for better connectivity, emphasis on delivery of basic services including justice and security services and most importantly, addressing peace and reconciliation needs of those who feel alienated from the development pathway. Challenges and next steps The current national plan (2018-23) is ambitious and is estimated to cost more than $6 billion, with an anticipated funding gap of $1 billion. Donor funds account for nearly 50% of the planned budget. To meet the key targets of the SDGs, Liberia needs international support, both technical and financial. The monitoring of the SDGs and its targets face a data deficit despite a robust statistical system established by the government. The UN, bi-laterals, and international NGOs are seized of this challenge and need to do more to ensure reliable and timely data collection for select SDG indicators. Efforts are underway to strengthen statistical institutions technical capacities and infrastructure to have a place credible, sustain and relevant data and information-gathering systems at both national and sub-national levels as well as the skilled personnel to gather, analyze and report on the country’s national development plan and the targets of the 2030 Agenda. Given the current level of progress against SDG indicators, the likelihood of Liberia being able to meet the targets seem relatively low, especially given the challenges posed by the Covid19 outbreak and the projected decline in foreign aid assistance as a result. Given the above, Liberia will re-assess the SDGs roadmap for the next ten years and prioritize based on the radically changed development landscape globally and at home. Currently, a socio-economic impacts assessment of the COVID-19 on the implementation of the country’s national development plan (PAPD), and the 2030 Agenda are underway. The assessment results will inform the reprioritization and implementation of the PAPD, the 2030 Agenda, and the post-COVID-19 Economy Stabilization and Recovery Plan. Evaluation has played a limited role in public sector management as it relates to improving the design and implementation of national development efforts. However, the government has recognized the need for embedding evaluation into the national development planning processes in terms of helping to ensure that public policies, programs, and processes are informed by sound evidence and lead to effective and 3 equitable results. Therefore, the government is committed to ensuring that evaluation is an integral part of all efforts by the government, civil society organizations, and the private sector in achieving the goals of the national development plan and the 2030 Agenda. The Effects COVID-19 effects and government response Now, the COVID-19 has significantly cause severe downward trends across the economic, social, environmental, and technological sectors. Liberia that is already experiencing absolute poverty, entrenched inequality, widespread infrastructure deficits, and economic deprivation is expected to be one of the hardest affected Sub-Sahara countries. Practically, the targets of the PAPD seems unrealistic and unachievable due to the impacts of COVID-19 on its implementation. This indicates that the goals and targets of the PAPD needs to be reprioritize. The current global and continental and global economic shocks compel government to do so in order for government to be more realistic in addressing the existing socio-economic downturn and continue to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The reprioritization of the PAPD goals and targets will also emphasis the government commitment to implement the 2030 Agenda and achieving the SDGs. Therefore, the post-COVID-19 recovery will play out in tandem with accelerated action to achieve the SDGs. The focus will be on sub-national development, human capital development, protection of children's rights, and reduction of systemic biases against women in the social and political arena with greater emphasis on social cohesion and sustaining the peace. Moreover, Liberia will continue to build a nation based on the principles of inclusion, harnessing its human capital of young people who comprise more than half the population, towards equitable distribution of revenues generated from natural resources, and on a rights-based approach to development. The eradication of extreme poverty, that is central to the SDG agenda, will be most urgent. 4 Message from the President On January 22, 2018, the People of Liberia entrusted me with the responsibility of leading the effort to build a capable state that is united in purpose and filled with hope and prosperity. This ushered in the first generational change in national leadership through the popular vote since the introduction of universal suffrage in 1951. I remain eternally grateful for this sacred trust and will, to the best of my ability and with the help of God, strive to change the narrative on Liberia and bring about a more stable, prosperous, and democratic state.