Monrovia, Liberia - The First Lady of the Republic of Liberia, Her Excellency Clar Marie Weah on Monday, May 16, 2022, held discussions with the new UN Women Liberia Country Director, Madam Comfort Lamptey on solidifying the existing partnership between the First Lady’s initiatives and UN Women to address issues affecting women and girls across the country.

The meeting which took place at Mrs. Weah’s Executive Mansion office on Capitol Hill in Monrovia was the first formal engagement between the First Lady and the new UN Women Boss who has only assumed her new role about seven weeks ago.

First Lady Clar Weah used the occasion to applaud Madam Lamptey on her new assignment to Liberia while expressing willingness to work with her at various levels in championing the cause of women and girls.

The First Lady went on to outline her various initiatives including the ongoing construction of the City of Hope in Marshall, Margibi County; the completed Dehcontee Home of the Elderly in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, the She’s You Movement Menstrual and Personal Hygiene Initiative and the Army Wives Vocational Training Project along with the pending women empowerment through agriculture project in Bomi County among others.

Mrs. Weah noted that her various interventions are focused on transforming the lives of underprivileged Liberians including women and girls who are languishing in abject poverty, through impactful projects which would build their capacity, empower them fully and make them productive in society.

Describing as mind-boggling the fact that women and girls, as well as children and old folks, are suffering in the communities with little or no source of empowerment, Mrs. Weah said she was concerned and committed to helping address the situation but could not do it all alone.

The Liberian First Lady craved UN Women's support to buttress her efforts in various ways possible.

In response, Madam Lamptay thanked Mrs. Weah for the warm reception and the great initiatives that she is undertaking to empower women and girls and help the less fortunate through the Clar Hope Foundation and the Office of the First Lady.

Madam Lamptey further expressed delight over her new assignment, though she noted it was not her first tour of duty in Liberia as she once headed the Gender Unit of the United Nations Mission in Liberia some 10 years ago.

The new UN Women Boss, however, assured the First Lady of her commitment to exploring various opportunities for synergies, while seeking Mrs. Weah’s willingness to lend her voice and influence to promoting advocacies and initiatives being championed by UN Women.

Madam Lamptey named Women's political participation, Women's Economic Empowerment, and Women in Peace and Security as part of the four thematic areas around which the UN Women’s initiatives are tailored among other initiatives.

Meanwhile, the new UN Women Boss also thanked the Liberian First Lady for the construction of a vocational training center for the Army wives as she announced plans to donate assorted equipment including computers, printers, and sewing machines among other materials on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.

The First Lady welcomed UN Women’s intervention.