Liberia (Vol 17, 2020)
in Africa Yearbook OnlineSearch for other papers by Ibrahim Al-bakri Nyei in
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(4,496 words)
Political and socioeconomic developments in Liberia, in 2020, were dominated and severely affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Liberia’s rapid and proactive response may well have saved the country from mass community transmission. Long before the first case was recorded in Africa, Liberia was among the first countries in the world to institute epidemic control measures. Early in February, Liberia instituted a thorough virus control protocol (hand washing, temperature checks, and contact tracing) at its international airport for travellers coming from abroad. On 16 March, the country recorded its first official case of the virus in a government official. With experience from dealing with the Ebola virus disease epidemic (evd, 2014–16), the Liberian government reactivated emergency response measures, and communities quickly adapted to new rules and went on high alert. This saved the country from widespread community transmission of the virus throughout the year; but due to the spread of the virus in other parts of the world, particularly Europe and America, and mutual border closures that affected the movement of goods and people in the sub-region, the fallout from the outbreak of Covid-19 weighed heavily on political and social development in the country. Production slumped, and workers in many sectors suffered lay-offs. The greatest blow to the government was its defeat in the senatorial election held in December, when the ruling party lost in 12 of the 15 senate elections. Alongside the senatorial election, Liberians finally voted on proposed changes to the country’s constitution after years of debate on constitutional reform. The opposition called for a boycott of the referendum or a ‘no’ vote on all items while the government supported a ‘yes’ vote on all items, but no item was passed in the referendum.
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Liberia (Vol 17, 2020)
in Africa Yearbook OnlineSearch for other papers by Ibrahim Al-bakri Nyei in
Current site
Google Scholar
(4,496 words)