The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Liberia Yacoub El Hillo has called for a holistic Implementation of Liberia’s National Agenda, the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD).

Mr. Hillo speaking at the launch of the PAPD held in Ganta, Nimba County, cautioned that the Pro poor Development Plan should not be Monrovia based but rather, impact the lives of all Liberians across the Country.

Despite many contributions from regional and international development partners in formulating the PAPD, Liberia’s development partners again at the official launch pledged their commitment to the implementation of the plan.

The UN Resident Coordinator Yacoub El Hillo said, “We were privileged to have been given the opportunity to contribute and it is the responsibility as the UN family to ensure that we contribute not only to the document but the implementation of the document because that is the bottom line.”

He congratulated the government of Liberia for concluding the plan in record time.

The UN Resident Coordinator revealed that “with the Plan now launched, the UN will immediately align the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) with the PAPD”.

Launching the five-year National Agenda, President George Weah called on Liberians to buy into the plan, take ownership and make sure it works.

President Weah pledged to act purposefully in achieving the goals of the 5-yr national development plan which gives power to the people, promotes good governance, equitable distribution of national resources and aligns to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“This Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development presents a clear roadmap to the attainment of national goals and objectives,” said President Weah.

The Liberian Leader mentioned that “Sustainable Peace” remains critical to national reconciliation and development

Speaking earlier, Finance and Development Planning Minister Samuel Tweah stressed that effective delivery of the PAPD remains the most critical for the next five years.

Mr. Tweah reveal that the government intends to stage a road show to raise funds to support implementation of the PAPD.

The Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD) was launched with the participation of key development partners including the UN System, EU, USAID, AU, AFDB, ECOWAS among others.

UNDP, a reliable development partner played a key role from the inception of the process, soliciting the assistance of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), providing technical inputs in the crafting of the Plan, facilitating national consultations on the concept of "Pro-Poor" and providing financial resources, in support of the official launch.