Funder: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) & Mercy Corps
Duration: 2015-2017
Region: Western Africa
Country: Liberia
Sector: Governance and Social Accountability 

Context

Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone were the three countries most affected by the 2014–2016 EVD outbreak. This, in turn, led to the collapse of multiple government systems in each country, including health, agriculture, democracy and governance, trade and markets, and education, many of which were already fragile before the crisis. In Liberia, the population suffered significant second-order impacts on household welfare, human development, and the economy. As the U.S. Government (USG) lead the post-EVD recovery, USAID designed, implemented, and oversaw activities with the objectives of preventing the loss of development gains; recover and strengthen existing institutions and infrastructures; and build sustainable systems through public-private partnerships, innovation, and capacity building.

The Intervention

Economic Recovery from Ebola for Liberia (EREL) I & II were part of USAID supported programs, implemented by Mercy Crops and partners,  to support the most vulnerable households which have been affected by the Ebola epidemic in Lofa, Margibi, Montserrado and Nimba counties through unconditional cash transfers and vouchers for farm inputs. VOSIEDA and mercy Corp collaborated on this project in Liberia’s northern Lofa County.

The cash transfers sought to cover 50% of the food needs of a family of five over eight months in response to food price increases and depleted food stocks due to the Ebola crisis. In addition, vouchers for critical agricultural inputs were also distributed to smallholder farmers, specifically to Nimba and Lofa counties. As part of these activities, ongoing monitoring of the quality and quantity of food and input supply, as well as local market fluctuation monitoring were carried out.

Key facts

Sector: Capacity Building and Knowledge Transfer
Domain: Capacity building, Food security, and Unconditional Cash Transfer
Benefiting zone: Liberia
Nature:  Action grant
Duration: 2015-2017
Status: completed