By Bill W. Cooper
The Help a Mother & Newborn Initiative (HAMNI), a youth and women-led civil society organization, has officially launched the “Echo Change Project” in Montserrado and Margibi counties.
The landmark initiative is intended to help address the growing threat of unsafe abortion and to increase awareness about Liberia’s revised Public Health Law.
The Echo Change Project, which last for six months, is a community-led advocacy and awareness campaign that seeks to empower youth and local communities to understand and influence discussions around Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), with a sharp focus on unsafe abortion and the country’s evolving legal framework.
Unsafe abortion has become alarmingly common across Liberian communities, with health authorities and advocates warning of its direct link to maternal mortality and teenage pregnancy, as the Echo Change Project, which officially kicked off in May 2025, aims to combat this trend through education, community engagement, and strategic advocacy.
The Project Lead, Qweta Chuku Gbaie, explained, “In Montserrado County, we are working in King Gray community in Paynesville and New Kru Town on the Bushrod Island, and in Margibi County, we are targeting Yarnwullie-Gbi District, Cinta-Kakata, and Floko Town-Marshall. Our goal is to train 25 peer educators in each of these communities to serve as agents of change.”
According to Gbaie, the project will also include community forums, stakeholder workshops, and media campaigns to raise awareness of the revised public health law and its implications for SRHR, especially regarding unsafe abortion.
“We want communities to understand their rights, know the laws that protect them, and actively engage in shaping public health policies that affect their lives,” she emphasized.
Speaking at the launch, the Executive Director of Help a Mother & Newborn Initiative, Lela Precious said the project is a response to staggering statistics on unsafe abortion, teenage pregnancy, and maternal mortality in Liberia.
“Liberia currently faces a teenage pregnancy rate of 30.1%—one of the highest in the region. Maternal mortality is also on the rise, with over 700 women dying for every 100,000 births. These are not just numbers; these are the lives of our sisters, mothers, and daughters,” she said.
Citing a recent study conducted by CHAD, Precious revealed that more than 8,000 unsafe abortions were carried out within the research timeframe, and called on government institutions and civil society to step up efforts to create safer, informed options for women and girls.
“This project is about amplifying the voices of communities, especially women and youth so that they can engage in shaping policies that directly impact their lives. Our approach is community-driven, and our advocacy will push for the passage of the draft Public Health Bill, now before the National Legislature,” she added.
Meanwhile, a health policy consultant and advisor to the project, Titus Kpallah, emphasized the urgency of the campaign in light of shrinking donor support for reproductive health issues, and said, “Key donors like USAID are no longer supporting areas like maternal mortality and unsafe abortion, which leaves a major gap.”
