The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has commenced a cash-transfer programme to support vulnerable groups in Liberia.
USAID launched the Unconditional Cash Transfer Activity (UCT) project in partnership with King Philanthropies and private donors.
Development Diaries gathered that the targeted beneficiaries include Liberians disproportionately affected by the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as those previously affected by the Ebola epidemic.
Ebola affected Liberia’s economy as many people were wary of visiting local markets and the free movement of people and goods, both nationally and regionally, was severely reduced.
Not too long after business owners overcame Ebola, the world was shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
USAID said in a statement that the UCT project, which was designed to improve food security, start or expand income-generating activities, and protect their livelihoods, would cover 85,000 Liberians for three months.
The focus of distribution, according to the statement, will be owners of micro and small businesses, small traders, market women, small farmers, and members of other vulnerable groups in Bong, Grand Bassa, Lofa, Margibi, Montserrado, and Nimba.
Speaking during the virtual launch, U.S. Embassy Chargé d’affaires Alyson Grunder hailed the ‘wide and broad non-partisan’ development partnership between the United States and Liberia.
Grunder said evidence from around the world indicated that the programme could be ‘a powerful poverty reduction tool having impact not only on the situations of individuals but extending multiplier effects to families and households, reducing community burdens, and supporting small-scale enterprises and agriculture’.
The USAID/Liberia Mission Director, Sara Walter, said, ‘We eagerly look forward to jointly exploring with all our many Liberian partners’ lessons [learnt] from the cash transfer programme and how we can collectively, in partnership, build on its gains to achieve our shared vision of a Liberia free of poverty’.
As for the the country’s Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Samuel Tweah, he thanked the U.S. government for coming to Liberia’s aid.
Tweah said the programme was a valuable investment and a big step toward helping the country succeed on its journey to self-reliance.
Source: Front Page Africa
Photo source: United Nations Development Programme
