Sweden ends aid to Liberia in a hammer blow to women’s rights and healthcare

Sweden’s diplomatic mission in Monrovia closed its doors on 31 August, ending a presence that began in 1961 and withdrawing billions of kronor in development assistance that had made it Liberia’s second‑largest donor after the United States. The cut, part of sweeping reductions to Swedish foreign aid, terminates more than SEK 5.77 billion (£445 million) in funding that had supported infrastructure, democratic institutions, humanitarian relief, resource management and, most prominently, gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). In 2025, over a quarter of Sweden’s aid to Liberia was earmarked for women’s rights, family planning, HIV care and programmes to combat gender‑based violence, positioning Sweden as the country’s biggest champion of these issues. While the Swedish government says it will continue to contribute through the European Union and multilateral bodies such as UN Women and UNFPA, the abrupt loss of direct support follows the recent dismantling of USAID programmes that left clinics without contraceptives, delivering what activists describe as a “hammer blow” to the nation’s fragile health and rights infrastructure.

The most immediate impact is felt by projects that relied on Swedish funding, notably the Promotion of Women’s Power and Rights in Liberia (Power) initiative, which will not receive a renewal after its five‑year run. Managed by the Swedish NGO Kvinna till Kvinna and financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Power has, over the past five years, reached 16,350 women across nine counties and assisted more than 400 survivors of gender‑based violence in securing justice. Country director Korto Williams warns that without high‑value, multi‑year financing, efforts to combat gender‑based violence cannot wait, and the loss of Swedish backing jeopardises the continuity of these services. Similarly, Aminata Kamara of the Swedish Association of Sexuality Education (RSFU) stresses that Sweden’s departure removes a rare ally willing to publicly advocate for controversial issues such as bodily autonomy and the right to choose, leaving local activists without a powerful international voice in the fight for women’s and LGBTQ rights.

Liberia’s broader context amplifies the stakes of Sweden’s exit. Decades of civil war left roughly 250,000 dead and entrenched sexual violence as a weapon of conflict, with impunity persisting in a society where few perpetrators are held accountable. Unwanted pregnancies are rampant—an estimated 46 % of pregnancies are unplanned, and about a third end in abortion, despite Liberia’s severely restrictive abortion laws that require approval from two doctors even in cases of rape, incest, or life‑threatening conditions. Recent tightening of misoprostol regulations, linked to a $176 million bilateral aid deal with the United States in December 2025, has further constrained safe abortion access. Activists estimate 38,000 illegal abortions occur annually, contributing to 10–15 % of maternal deaths, a figure likely underreported because many fatalities are misattributed to hemorrhaging. Health practitioner Tulay‑Solanke recounts desperate, dangerous methods women employ, such as inserting a stick made from crushed glass and snake‑plant root, underscoring the lethal gaps in reproductive care. With Sweden’s withdrawal, the continuity of comprehensive sex education, family‑planning services and gender‑based violence interventions hangs in the balance, threatening to reverse hard‑won gains in a nation still grappling with poverty, limited health infrastructure and a legacy of conflict‑induced trauma.

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