MONROVIA, LIBERIA-The UN Women has approved over six hundred thousand US dollars for the recruitment of more women in the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL).

The money, under the Elsie Initiative Fund Project, aims at increasing women’s participation in the AFL and enhancing their deployment to the UN peacekeeping operations.

The project is a two-year effort, which will be led by the Defense Ministry in partnership with UN Women.

At the launch of the project on Monday, February 9, 2026, UN Women-Liberia Representative, Kofi Ireland, said,” The project seeks to prioritize serious nationwide recruitment campaigns”.

Ireland emphasized that the funding will not be used for salaries or infrastructure development, but to ensure that women’s participation in the AFL is increased significantly from the current seven percent.

He added that beyond recruitment, the project seeks to address deeper systemic issues by supporting policy and reforms on recruitment, retention, whistleblowing, and harassment prevention.

At the same time, the Minister of National Defense, Geraldine George Johnson, has hailed the UN Women for what she called a massive support to efforts aimed at increasing the number of women in the Army.

Minister Johnson said,” The Elsie Initiative Fund Project will enhance, not only gender inclusion, but also the operational effectiveness and professionalism of Liberia’s peacekeeping contributions”.

She said the project clearly aligns with the country’s national priorities, including the National Defense Act, and the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security.

The defense minister added that the project also supports the Ministry of National Defense and the Armed Forces of Liberia’s gender policy, while aligning with global frameworks and the Sustainable Development Goals.

For his part, the Chief of Staff of the AFL, Maj. Gen. Davidson Forleh said,” The funding is a huge support to the Army’s dream of recruiting six hundred new personnel annually”.

Maj. Gen. Forleh added that the Elsie Initiative Fund Project will enable the Army to carry out an inclusive female recruitment for the first time.

He further said,” Despite delays for the approval for recruitment in this year’s National Budget, the AFL is positive that a rigorous recruitment campaign will take place to enhance the manpower of the Army.

The launch of the Project was graced by several female personnel of various security apparatus, including the Bong County District Six Representative, Moima Briggs Mensah.