Research to analyze effects of reconciliation on development in Liberia

10 January 2010 [MediaGlobal]: Kokoyah, home to 15,000 Liberians, is the site of the country’s new five-year, $5.4 million Millennium Village. Having recently emerged from years of civil war ending in 2003, Liberia’s infrastructure remains largely destroyed and the government has often been unable to deliver basic services. The country’s high unemployment also includes many demobilized combatants, and poverty is rampant in rural areas. To better address the inter-related needs that stem from Liberia’s violent recent history, Kokoyah’s Millennium Village Program will additionally focus on the impact of reconciliation efforts on development and how development will affect reconciliation. Elisabeth King, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Earth Institute who is assisting with analyzing this, explained to MediaGlobal that “research in the Liberian Millennium Village is leading the way in terms of focusing on social outcomes as well as economic, agricultural, and health indicators.” King added that since she and other researchers recognize that every conflict – and country – is different, their new data will help development programs become more suited to the unique realities on the ground, a vital cornerstone of the Millennium Village Project. Preliminary results show that less than six years after the end of the war, generalized trust among Liberians in the government is high, implying a positive relationship between development and social cohesion. The overall Millennium Villages Project brings together Columbia University’s Earth Institute, the Millennium Promise, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and host governments to lift people out of the traps of extreme poverty through sustainable and scientific community-led initiatives that focus on agriculture, health, education, and infrastructure. The partnership in Liberia will include efforts to transfer new agricultural techniques to local populations as well as enhance security, governance, and overall capacity. Henoch Derbew