By P. Vangerline Kpotoe
MONROVIA, Nov. 03 (LINA) —The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), through its Gender-Responsive Planning and Budgeting (GRPB) National Coordination Unit, has begun a three-day training workshop to strengthen gender mainstreaming across Liberia’s Public Financial Management cycle.
Opening the workshop, GRPB National Coordinator Kpannah Mason challenged participants to critically assess current public financial management practices and identify practical approaches to address gender gaps in government policies, programs and budget allocations.
Coordinator Mason stressed that gender mainstreaming is not the exclusive responsibility of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, but a collective responsibility of all public institutions.
“Gender mainstreaming is not the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection. All spending entities have a role to play,” she emphasized.
She pointed to the education and health sectors as examples where government institutions can embed gender considerations into policies and programs to ensure equitable access to essential public services.
The training will cover key thematic areas including the role of communication in gender-responsive budgeting, national planning and budget processes, gender-responsive planning and budgeting, gender integration in budget processes, fiscal transparency, and monitoring and evaluation.
Held in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County from October 28-30, 2026, the workshop brings together representatives from various government spending entities to build their capacity to incorporate gender considerations into national planning, budget formulation, execution, monitoring and evaluation.
The Buchanan training follows a day-long validation exercise held Monday in Monrovia by the MFDP in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), focusing on the Gender Fiscal Impact Assessment of Women-Owned Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Liberia.
The workshop is expected to enhance the ability of spending entities to integrate gender throughout the PFM cycle and make government programs more responsive to the needs of diverse population groups.