At about 1:45pm yesterday, a woman with swollen legs worked into the offices of this paper beseeching for assistance. She looked very haggard, hardly moved her legs, even to lift her foot over the flat stairs at the entrance was difficult.

	• Liberians Grapple With Poverty

“Please help me so I can buy my blood medicine. My money is not correct,” she said with a fainting voice.

Maybe she did not want to say the real thing not to scolded, but indeed her corporeal outlook portrays a deep conviction of hardship, one of the ladies remarked. She said it might be that she is sick and does not even eat.

Apparently consumed by saintly feelings, one of the women opened her purse and blessed her with something. “Thank you; may God bless you,” she said and worked away very gently.

Upon the woman’s departure, one of the women remarked: “This is the level of suffering Liberians are enduing daily. Liberians are suffering too much.”

According to her, the woman situation is just a tip of the iceberg of suffering across the city, let alone the entire country.

Most Liberians, in and out of government, are of the view that the problem is due to the prolonged armed conflict, which decimated economy, with thousands of Liberians being out of job while others blamed it on “mere laziness” on the part of those aversely affected.

At the same, the global phenomenon of soaring food prices is another factor most Liberians say is exacerbating the situation with many Liberians finding it tetchy to get a daily meal. With this, analysts and observers agree that Liberians are at battle with poverty, which according to them needs massive, sustained and proactive response from the Government.

However, the Liberian Government is not letting the issue under the carpet, but is meandering available avenues to address it as promptly as possible, as evident by the upcoming forum to take place in Germany.

On Monday, the Liberian Government through the Minister of Finance, Antoinette Sayeh called a news conference to explain the importance of the forum as it relates to Liberia’s poverty reduction initiatives, and to appeal to the international community to rally around the country, which is still having trouble in setting the pace of national renewal and progress. 

She told reporters how President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf would lead a Liberian delegation to the 2008 Liberia Poverty Reduction Forum scheduled to take place in Berlin, Germany.

The forum, according to her, the forum will last for two days, beginning from the 26th to the 27 of this month./Minister Sayeh said Liberia’s key partners would be attending the forum including multilateral organizations, bilateral governments, NGOs, charitable foundations, private corporations and members of civil society.

According to her, there would also be high-level representatives from the United Nations, World Bank, Germany and the United States.

Minister Sayeh, who leaves the post shortly for international assignment with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the Government of Liberia would present Liberia’s first Poverty Reduction Strategy to its partners, and that discussion will center on the goals and anticipated challenges during the implementation phase, with a focus on infrastructure development.

The forum is being hosted by the Government of Germany, and has been organized together with the World Bank. Minister Sayeh said the Liberia Poverty Reduction Forum focuses on reconstruction and development of infrastructure, which is a top priority for the people of Liberia.

She pointed out that the support of the international partners has played a significant role in the reconstruction and development efforts of the current government.

“For example, many countries continue to generously contribute to the UN peacekeeping force in Liberia and contributed to the clearance of Liberia’s sizable debt burden”, she added.

She told journalists that the forum is an opportunity for the Government of Liberia to present the Poverty Reduction Strategy to partners, especially the progress that has been made by the current administration in securing peace, revitalizing the economic, strengthening governance.