Africa-Press – Liberia. President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has boosted the fight against HIV/AIDS in Liberia with a donation of fifty thousand United States dollars and a pledge of two pickups to the National AIDS Commission (NAC).
The support was announced Friday, May 16, during the Commission’s first fundraising dinner held at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Congo Town. The event, held under the theme “Mobilizing domestic resources to strengthen coordination, monitoring and oversight of Liberia’s HIV response”, aimed to generate funding to address the Commission’s growing financial constraints amid donor withdrawal.
President Boakai said the government is committed to stopping new HIV infections by 2030 and emphasized the need for stronger local ownership and resource mobilization.
He noted that over thirty-four thousand people are currently undergoing treatment for HIV in Liberia, underscoring the urgency for coordinated and well-funded response efforts.
The president called on philanthropic groups, private citizens, and both public and private institutions to contribute to the national fight against the disease. He stressed that Liberia’s international partners are observing how committed the country is to financing its own public health goals.
President Boakai assured that the government will continue working with NAC to secure additional resources, emphasizing that Friday’s dinner marked just the beginning of broader funding efforts.
NAC Commissioner for Partnership Tracy Pency-Kyne said the fundraising event was a crucial step in the Commission’s efforts to build its financial independence and sustain its operations.
She explained that the Commission is struggling to perform essential tasks, including coordination and oversight, due to limited budgetary allocations. She warned that continued financial shortfalls could hamper efforts to align Liberia’s HIV response with global health targets.
Pency-Kyne said nearly all operations at the Commission depend on funding and that domestic support is now critical following the scaling down of contributions from some international donors.
The fundraising dinner drew wide participation from government ministries and agencies, public corporations, and non-governmental organizations, many of whom pledged support for the initiative.
The National AIDS Commission is leading Liberia’s strategy to prevent new HIV infections, improve treatment coverage, and meet global health targets by 2030.
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