By Dudu M. Kamara
MONROVIA, Oct. 16 (LINA) — The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection Gbeme Horace-Kollie has reaffirmed her commitment to strengthening protection and expanding opportunities for women, children, and other vulnerable groups through a more responsive and inclusive social protection system over the next five years.
Minister Kollie made the statement Wednesday, October 14, 2026, during the official launch of the Ministry’s 2026–2030 Five-Year Strategic Plan at the Ballroom of the EJS Ministerial Complex in Congo Town.
The event brought together senior government officials, development partners, United Nations agencies, civil society organizations, women’s groups, and other stakeholders committed to advancing Liberia’s gender equality, child protection, and social protection agenda.
The Minister said the plan provides a roadmap for strengthening institutional performance, improving service delivery, promoting gender equality, and enhancing protection for children and vulnerable populations across the country.
“Over the next five years, women must experience greater protection and opportunity, children must benefit from stronger safeguarding systems, survivors must have improved access to timely, dignified, and appropriate services, and vulnerable individuals and families must experience a more responsive and inclusive social protection system,” she stated.
Minister Kollie emphasized that the plan reflects the Ministry’s priorities and strategic direction for the next five years, with a focus on institutional strengthening, improved service delivery, enhanced coordination, and the development of robust data systems to address the complex challenges facing children and vulnerable populations.
She noted that collaboration with development partners and other stakeholders had contributed to significant policy progress, demonstrating a collective commitment to moving beyond policy development toward practical solutions to persistent and emerging challenges affecting gender equality, child protection, social inclusion, and the welfare of vulnerable people across Liberia.
According to the Minister, the strategic plan establishes a coordinated framework to guide the Ministry’s activities, strengthen institutional capacity, promote sustainable livelihoods, and ensure that vulnerable and underserved populations are not left behind.
She stressed that the plan’s success would not be measured by its promises on paper but by the tangible improvements it delivers in the lives of ordinary Liberians.
Minister Kollie said the framework is intended to reposition the Ministry as a stronger, more responsive, and forward-looking institution capable of addressing existing challenges, anticipating emerging social risks, and developing sustainable solutions.
She, however, cautioned that achieving these objectives would require adequate financial resources, sustained political commitment, effective coordination, strong partnerships, and sufficient institutional capacity to translate policy priorities into measurable results.
Placing people at the center of the plan, the Minister highlighted the need to expand protection and opportunities for women and girls, strengthen child safeguarding systems, improve services for survivors of gender-based violence, and extend social protection to persons with disabilities, older persons, and vulnerable households.
She explained that the plan represents a shift from fragmented interventions toward a more integrated, coordinated, and results-oriented approach that aligns national priorities, institutional responsibilities, available resources, and performance targets.
“Implementation requires more than goodwill; it demands strategic investment, strong partnerships, and the collective determination to turn our priorities into practical outcomes,” Minister Kollie stressed.
She reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to working closely with government institutions, development partners, civil society organizations, the private sector, and other stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of the strategic plan and the achievement of its objectives.