Sweden ends aid to Liberia in a hammer blow to women’s rights and healthcare

Sweden has ended its aid programme in Liberia, closing an embassy presence that dated back to 1961 and halting support that made it the country’s second-largest donor after the United States. The Guardian reports the withdrawal is a heavy blow to women’s healthcare in one of the world’s poorest countries, coming on the heels of the dismantling of USAID, which had already left clinics short of contraceptives.

Since a development partnership began in 2008, in the aftermath of Liberia’s civil war, Sweden has given more than SEK5.77bn (about £445m), and in 2025 more than a quarter of its aid went to women’s rights, family planning and HIV care. Campaigners say projects such as the Power programme — which reached 16,350 women in nine counties and helped more than 400 survivors of gender-based violence find justice over five years — now face an uncertain future.

Advocates describe the loss of a public ally that was willing to speak up on the most controversial issues, including the right to choose. The concern is especially acute given the scale of the problem: an estimated 46 percent of pregnancies in Liberia are unwanted, roughly 38,000 illegal abortions occur each year, and legal abortion is heavily restricted.