Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening the national response to HIV/AIDS, syphilis, and hepatitis B, even as the country battles a rapidly rising debt burden that continues to squeeze the national budget.
Speaking on Monday, December 1, 2025, at the Capitol during the program marking World AIDS Day, Minister Ngafuan revealed that the government has sustained its budgetary allocation for the HIV response despite severe fiscal shocks that disrupted critical sectors this year. “We have some allocation in the budget for the fight against AIDS. We will continue to work to do more,” he assured.
The Minister acknowledged that health, education, and agriculture were heavily hit by the disruptions, but stressed that the administration “is not resting” and is “working through the nails” to keep essential services on track. However, Ngafuan praised early gains from ongoing economic reforms, stating that “good news is on the way.”
Minister Ngafuan, however, underscored the growing strain of debt servicing, describing it as a mounting obligation that now rivals social sector spending. He disclosed that in the nearly US$2 billion national budget, the combined health and education allocation is US$233 million, while debt service alone consumes US$210 million.
Liberia’s Finance Minister, however, reminded attendees that the Public Financial Management Law prioritizes debt servicing above all expenditures. “If the government does not pay its debt, the banking system will be challenged and will cause instability. Failure to meet obligations could trigger sanctions from major partners, including the World Bank,” he explained. While commending progress in the HIV fight, Minister Ngafuan urged health authorities and partners to scale up interventions against syphilis and especially hepatitis B, which he described as a deadly but neglected public health threat.
He added, “This is a triple thing here: stop HIV, stop Syphilis, and stop Hepatitis B. Our people are dying heavily because of this disease. It is one of the biggest killers in this country.” Ngafuan revealed that he personally knows more than ten people who have died from hepatitis B within the last 18 months, noting that many such deaths are misclassified as well as pledging personal support to the national response.
“I personally will be open, and I will care for hepatitis B. We need to ramp up the effort. Somewhere, somehow, it slips from the radar,” the Minister narrated. Members of the Legislature, including representatives from the House Committee on Health and the Office of the Senate Pro-Tempore, also pledged continued support to the Ministry of Health’s priorities. Lawmakers stressed that “our people are dying” and called for stronger national action to curb preventable deaths.
