Better Ideas for Liberia

In his May 14 op-ed, "Liberia's Moment of Opportunity," Robert L. Johnson endorsed the Bush administration's newly created Africa Command military structure and urged that it be based in Liberia.

This is misguided. Liberia's 26-year descent into chaos started when the Reagan administration prioritized military engagement and funneled military hardware, training and financing to the regime of the ruthless dictator Samuel K. Doe. This military "aid" built the machinery of repression that led to the deaths of an estimated 250,000 Liberians.

The "assistance" in the 1980s also came in the form of loans, which have ballooned to push Liberia's debt burden to more than $4 billion.

Liberia, long suffering the effects of militaristic "assistance" from the United States, would be the worst possible base. What Africa needs is its own mechanism to respond to peacemaking priorities on the continent. And more than anything, Liberia needs debt cancellation.

EMIRA WOODS

Co-Director, Foreign Policy in Focus

Institute for Policy Studies

Washington

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We agree wholeheartedly with Robert L. Johnson's argument for increased U.S. support for development in Liberia. We work in southeastern Liberia providing medical and public health assistance through the Health Equity Initiative (HEI), a community-based project that aims to strengthen rural health services in partnership with a provincial government health team. We see disease rooted in poverty that could be mitigated by sustainable development. In particular, there is a need for improved housing and roads.

HEI is studying how housing improvements can reduce disease. Research conducted elsewhere in Africa found that inexpensive interventions, such as replacing thatch roofs with metal, can reduce the risk of malaria by more than 25 percent. Malaria is a devastating killer in Liberia, where nearly one in four children dies a preventable death before age 5.

As one drives toward the center of Liberia from the seaside capital, Monrovia, roads grow worse, and in some areas practically don't exist. We frequently encounter gravely ill patients who walked for a full day to find transport to our clinic. We strongly encourage programs that will improve infrastructure and lead to health gains for Liberia's rural poor.

JOHN D. KRAEMER

Project Manager, Health Equity Initiative

Washington

RAJESH R. PANJABI

Director, Health Equity Initiative

Zwedru, Liberia