MONROVIA – The Office of the First Lady of Liberia has reaffirmed its commitment to the Government of Liberia–AFD–INP-HB Scholarship Project, a €2.2 million initiative that has provided training opportunities for 80 Liberian students across four cohorts since 2019.
By J.H. Webster Clayeh
The assurance came during a regular Steering Committee meeting of the scholarship project held on June 15 at the Executive Mansion.
The project, coordinated by the Office of the First Lady Kartumu Yarta Boakai and involving several government ministries, is designed to expand educational and professional opportunities for Liberian youth.
The Steering Committee serves as a routine forum for key stakeholders to assess project implementation, address challenges, and make decisions aimed at ensuring the initiative remains on course.
Representatives from the steering committee are from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ministry of Youth and Sports, the National Commission on Higher Education, as well as technical partners from the French Development Agency (AFD) and Côte d’Ivoire’s Institute National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB).
The gathering followed a recent AFD supervision mission to Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, conducted on June 11–12, 2026 and formed part of a week-long supervision mission by an INP-HB delegation.
Among the key issues discussed were diploma recognition and equivalency, finalization of the Student–Government Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), student welfare and internship monitoring, financial auditing and the sustainability of the project beyond 2027.
Speaking during the meeting, the Chief of Staff in the Office of the First Lady, Foday E. Karpeh, welcomed delegates and development partners and underscored the significance of the scholarship initiative.
Karpeh emphasized that the project has transformed the lives of dozens of Liberian students and reaffirmed the government’s determination to ensure its continuity and long-term success.
According to him, the Office of the First Lady remains fully committed to the program. “We have come a long way for restructuring to come to where we are today we are grateful that together, we are able to reach this far.”
He also expressed gratitude to the project’s international partners. “We want to thank the AFD and the French government and also we want to thank the Ivorian government for hosting the students there in Ivory Coast. On behalf of the President extend warm facilitation and best wishes to both countries for your support and collaboration to Liberia especially in the education sector,” he stated.
Karpeh noted that the scholarship beneficiaries are making meaningful progress in pursuing their educational goals. “The students are happy and they are fulfilling their dreams and we want to thank God that we all are contributing to their dreams. We look forward to looking at the substantive issues regarding the project and share ideas on the way forward. The few days you will be there, we look forward to you visiting the site, visiting the students and getting feedback from them because that too will inform the productivity of the project,” he said.
Participating in the meeting were Abass Toure, Project Coordinator of INP-HB, and Mrs. Laure-Natacha Tchimou, Project Assistant of INP-HB. Representing AFD were Mar Merita Blat, Task Team Leader for Higher Education, Vocational Training and Employment based in Paris, France and Elliot Sotty, AFD Country Representative for Liberia.
Speaking on behalf of AFD, Blat said she was pleased to return to Liberia for the third time and commended the government for its cooperation since the project’s inception.
“We want to look at the specific undertaken of the agreement between the government of the Liberia and AFD,” Blat stressed. The meeting reviewed progress achieved under the €2.2 million scholarship and training initiative, which has supported 80 Liberian students since 2019.
Stakeholders also reflected on a recent high-level oversight mission to Abidjan and Yamoussoukro led by Karpeh.
The January mission sought to strengthen implementation mechanisms and address challenges confronting Liberian beneficiaries. The mission yielded several gains, including the development of a roadmap for diploma recognition, improved monitoring systems, stronger collaboration with the Liberian Embassy in Abidjan, and renewed efforts to address student welfare concerns.
Monday’s Steering Committee meeting built on those achievements, with stakeholders reaffirming their collective commitment to ensuring that the scholarship program continues to provide meaningful educational and professional opportunities for Liberian youth.
