MONROVIA, LIBERIA-Health officials and partners are expected to convene in Congo Town today, Monday, for a high-level stakeholder engagement.

The meeting will be hosted by the Ministry of Health in partnership with SFTH International, and aims to address the urgent need for addressing neurodiversity affirming policies for Autism and intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD).

The stakeholder engagement is also intended to bridge a critical gap in Liberia’s social framework.

Recent Liberia-based evidence presented by the organizers reveals that Autism and IDD remain largely unaddressed in current national disability policies.

The data also indicates that over eighty percent of caregivers for individuals with these conditions are women, who face severe economic exclusion and mental health strain, compounded by cultural stigma that delays diagnosis and access to education.

According to a notice, the meeting seeks to reframe caregiving not merely as a family responsibility, but as a structural gender justice issue.

Organizers have emphasized that sustainable reform requires the leadership of national women’s Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to ensure that disability policy reflects the intersection of gender, poverty, and geography.