medica mondiale in Liberia

Two out of every three women were raped during the civil war in Liberia. For 15 long years government forces and rebel groups pillaged Liberian cities and villages and plunged the country into a maelstrom of violence and reprisals. More than one million women and girls, regardless of their age, were raped. Girls were forced to serve as soldiers, or abducted into forced prostitution in the camps of the warring parties where they became known as "camp followers".

Even after the official end of the civil war, violence against women and girls has yet to cease in Liberia. The war destroyed social values and norms and drastically lowered the threshold to violence. The sexual exploitation of women continues undiminished in the post-war society of Liberia. What is more, the plight of many women is forcing them into prostitution and subjecting them to exploitation and abuse in schools and on the street.

In a pilot project in Liberia medica mondiale and Deutsche Welthungerhilfe are cooperating in emergency aid and development measures to provide medical and psychological assistance for women. In May 2006, medica mondiale started a large-scale project in the underdeveloped South East of Liberia. Projects in the River Gee, Sinoe and Grand Gedeh districts are aimed at supporting traumatised women and girls to make a new start in the Liberian society.

This engagement ist part of the program of the German Financial Cooperation for the Rebuilding of the South East of Liberia. This task on behalf of Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW) is carried out by Deutsche Welthungerhilfe funded through Bundesministeriums für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ).

Report in e.velop, an online magazine of the German Federal Government

Information about Liberia