The Chairperson of the Senate’s Committee on Well being, Senator Debah M. Varpilah of Grand Cape Mount County, has pledged to make sure that the long-awaited Public Well being Invoice presently earlier than the Senate is dropped at the ground for passage within the shortest potential time.
By: Kruah Thompson
Monrovia, October 10, 2025: She made the pledge on October 9, 2025, whereas delivering remarks throughout the second day of the three-day SRHR 2025 Convention, held on the Ministerial Complicated in Congo City, Monrovia.
The convention was organized by the Amplifying Rights Community underneath the theme “Breaking the Limitations: Advancing SRHR for All.” It centered on selling sexual and reproductive well being and rights (SRHR) throughout Liberia, with explicit emphasis on addressing stigma, enhancing youth participation, and strengthening well being techniques.
Liberia’s Public Well being Invoice has been underneath dialogue for a number of years as a part of efforts to reform the nation’s outdated 1976 Public Well being Legislation. The invoice, first drafted by the Ministry of Well being in 2019, with help from growth companions such because the World Well being Group (WHO) and the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC), seeks to modernize Liberia’s well being governance framework consistent with worldwide well being rules and post-Ebola restoration priorities.
The drafting course of started as a part of Liberia’s post-Ebola restoration plan (2015–2021), after the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak uncovered severe weaknesses within the nation’s well being legal guidelines and emergency response techniques.
It goals to strengthen illness prevention, management, and surveillance techniques, outline roles and obligations throughout the well being sector, and guarantee efficient coordination throughout well being emergencies. The invoice additionally contains provisions addressing environmental well being, reproductive well being, sanitation, and the rights and duties of residents and well being staff.
The Ministry of Well being, by its Authorized and Coverage Division, began consultations round 2018, and by 2019, a draft Public Well being Invoice was accomplished and submitted to the Cupboard for assessment.
In 2020, the invoice was formally submitted to the Home of Representatives for legislative motion however confronted a number of delays, together with throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of 2025, the invoice stays into account within the Liberian Senate, awaiting passage, regardless of repeated stress from Well being advocates and civil society organizations.
It’s towards this backdrop that Senator Debah M. Varpilah, Chairperson of the Senate’s Committee on Well being, has pledged to push for the passage of the lengthy awaited Public Well being Invoice “within the shortest potential time.” additional notimg that This will even embody the Home Violence Act of 2019 and the mixing of the Gender Based mostly Violence Crimes Unit into the Ladies and Kids Safety Part of the Liberia Nationwide Police.
Giving a comment on the event, Senator Varpilah emphasised that whereas the invoice’s passage would sign renewed legislative consideration to one in all Liberia’s most crucial well being reform measures, the correct measure of success lies in its implementation.
She famous that efficient governance is not only about growing sound insurance policies however about “how successfully we translate commitments into companies that contact lives.”
In accordance with her, there’s a urgent must defend younger women who proceed to face boundaries in accessing contraception and correct details about their well being and rights. She lamented that too many ladies nonetheless die from preventable maternal causes, whereas survivors of sexual and gender-based violence battle to search out justice in totality.
“This convention, due to this fact, comes at a vital time,” she said, “providing a platform to rejoice what has been achieved, confront what has not, and envision the following section of SRHR in Liberia, one that’s inclusive, information pushed, and aligned with commitments underneath the Sustainable Improvement Targets (SDGs), the Maputo Plan of Motion, and the African Union Agenda 2063.”
Senator Varpilah additional underscored the significance of collaboration, noting: “Allow us to additionally acknowledge the ability of partnership, the Ministry of Well being, the Ministry of Gender, Kids and Social Safety, the Judiciary Committees, particularly the Ladies’s Legislative Caucus, youth networks, community-based organizations, and growth companions all play distinctive and interconnected roles on this journey.”
In her keynote handle, she emphasised that efficient coordination amongst stakeholders and real neighborhood engagement can speed up and maintain progress. “As policymakers,” she added, “we’ve got the obligation to make sure that SRHR is sufficiently funded, monitored, and guarded inside our nationwide legal guidelines.”
Moreover, Senator Varpilah urged policymakers to prioritize complete sexuality schooling, develop entry to household planning companies, strengthen well being techniques, and remove discriminatory practices that restrict the potential of ladies and women.
She disclosed that the Ladies’s Legislative Caucus is collaborating with the South-South Cooperation initiative, with help from governments of India, Brazil, and South Africa by UN Ladies, to start a nationwide engagement on SRHR-related points.
Nevertheless, the Senator cautioned that Liberia should turn into extra progressive in growing home financing fashions amid cuts in UN funding and restricted nationwide price range allocations to handle native well being considerations.
“We should finish corrupt practices in each the private and non-private sectors to ensure a wholesome future for everybody, particularly girls, women, individuals with disabilities, and different marginalized teams,” she stated.
“My message is straightforward,” Senator Varpilah concluded. “The conclusion of SRHR for all Liberians requires our collective efforts, political will, social dedication, and sustained sensible motion. It calls for that we proceed to interrupt boundaries, problem dangerous norms, and defend the suitable of each particular person to make knowledgeable decisions about their our bodies and their futures.”
