20/10/2026
Build Economies that work for Public Services
WHEN PUBLIC SERVICES ARE CUT, WOMEN BEAR THE BURDEN.
A budget cut may look like just a figure on paper, but for millions of women it means overcrowded classrooms for their kids, lack of school supplies, hospital care they can't afford, fewer chances at decent work, and more hours of unpaid care.
ActionAid's June 2026 report, โStill Cooking with a Failed Recipeโ, reviewed IMF policy advice in 11 countries. In 7 of the 8 African countries studied, debt servicing was higher than government spending on health. In Liberia FY2025 budget, debt servicing outweighs both the budgets for health and education combined.
Even so, the IMF documents reviewed did not assess the trade-offs between paying external debt and investing in health and education.
As the IMF and World Bank meet in Bangkok, ActionAid Liberia is calling for a different approach to economic development, one built on progressive taxation, debt relief, adequately funded public services and women's rights.
Economic growth means little if women can't access healthcare, young people can't find decent jobs, and families can't afford basic necessities. An economy that grows while its people struggle is not delivering development for all.
We need economies that work for people, not policies that make people carry the cost of economic adjustment.
YUGNet-Liberia ActionAid Embassy of Sweden in Monrovia ActionAid Sรฉnรฉgal Yugnet Liberia Accountability Lab ActionAid Uganda ActionAid Zimbabwe Natpah-Liberia ActionAid Nigeria Youth Alive Liberia Youth Crime Watch of Liberia ActionAid Kenya Global Platform Zambia ActionAid Mozambique GLOBAL PLATFORMS Liberian Women Empowerment Network-LIWEN Female Journalists Association of Liberia Jonathan J Williams Books Before Boys INC Willet Salue Jerome Nea Wlalee Jr. Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh Liberia Women Empowerment Project Gender Ministry Liberia
