Liberia’s Roads Are Becoming Public Health Emergency Rooms: Why the LNP Needs Urgent

The recent tragic accident on the Suakoko Highway, in which four people reportedly died including a young man who recently obtained a Master Degree from abroad and six others were critically injured, should trouble every Liberian. According to The Liberian Investigator, the crash involved two taxis and was reportedly linked to speeding and dangerous overtaking, though police investigation is ongoing. This is not just another road accident. It is another painful reminder that Liberia’s highways are becoming corridors of death.

The Monrovia–Kakata–Gbarnga–Ganta highway is one of Liberia’s most important economic and social corridors. It connects the capital to Margibi, Bong, Nimba, and the Guinea border. It carries students, businesspeople, farmers, public servants, patients, traders, market women, trucks, buses, taxis, and motorcycles. But over the years, this important national road has also recorded many deadly crashes. Preliminary public information gathered from news reports, social media references, and police-related data suggests that at least 135 deaths have been reported along or near the Monrovia–Gbarnga–Ganta corridor over recent years. The real number is likely higher.

Nationally, the picture is alarming. In 2025, the Liberia National Police recorded 1,564 road accidents, 236 deaths, and 992 injuries. In just the first quarter of 2026, the LNP recorded another 478 road accidents, 71 deaths, and 309 injuries. This means that from January 2025 to March 2026 alone, Liberia recorded 2,042 road accidents, 307 deaths, and 1,301 injuries. These are not ordinary numbers. They represent human beings, families, livelihoods, and national productivity destroyed.

As someone with a Master of Public Health, I see road traffic accidents not only as transport problems, but as a major public health crisis. My 2011 MPH thesis examined the causes of road traffic accidents, particularly motorcycle accidents in Monrovia. Even then, the warning signs were clear: speeding, reckless driving, poor enforcement, poor driver training, weak vehicle inspection, and limited public education were killing people. More than a decade later, many of the same factors continue to claim Liberian lives.

Globally, road traffic accidents are recognized as a major public health problem, especially in developing countries. The World Health Organization estimates that road crashes kill about 1.19 million people every year, and road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5 to 29 years. Low- and middle-income countries carry most of this burden. Liberia is not exempt.

To see a clear picture in economic term, let me use “The Value of Statistical Life, or VSL”., The VSL is not the price of a human life. Human life is priceless. Rather, VSL is an economic tool used by governments and public health experts to estimate the value of reducing the risk of death in society. It helps policymakers compare the cost of safety investments with the benefits of lives saved. For this article, I am using a conservative Liberia VSL of US$100,000 per person to show the minimum economic value Liberia loses when preventable road accidents take human lives.

 Using this conservative Liberia Value of Statistical Life of US$100,000 per person, the 307 deaths recorded from 2025 through the first quarter of 2026 represent a human capital loss of US$30.7 million. If we value injuries at 10 percent of the Liberia VSL, or US$10,000 per injured person, the 1,301 injuries represent another US$13.01 million. Together, deaths and injuries alone cost Liberia an estimated US$43.71 million.

But that is not all. The 2,042 road accidents recorded during this period likely involved a mix of single-vehicle and multiple-vehicle crashes. Using a conservative average of 1.5 vehicles per crash, this means an estimated 3,063 damaged vehicles. If each damaged vehicle costs only US$5,000 in repairs, lost use, towing, legal costs, medical transport, and related expenses, that adds another US$15.315 million. Therefore, using conservative assumptions, Liberia lost at least US$59.03 million from road accidents, deaths, injuries, and vehicle damage from January 2025 to March 2026 alone.

This figure is still conservative. It does not fully include hospital bills, long-term disability, funerals, lost school fees, loss of business income, trauma, court costs, police investigation costs, or the burden placed on poor families. The World Bank has estimated that road traffic crashes in Liberia may cost as much as 7 percent of GDP. Using Liberia’s 2025 GDP of about US$5.25 billion, that 7 percent estimate would equal approximately US$367.5 million in annual economic losses.

This is why increased funding for the Liberia National Police is not a luxury. It is a life-saving investment.

The LNP needs logistics, manpower, incentives, and training to enforce traffic laws on the Monrovia–Ganta highway and other major corridors. Traffic officers need patrol vehicles, motorcycles, fuel, speed guns, breathalyzers, communication equipment, reflective gear, tow support, and operational allowances. Police presence must be visible at accident hotspots, including Suakoko, Gbarkor Hill, Kakata, Gbarnga, Ganta, market towns, school zones, sharp curves, and dangerous overtaking areas.

But enforcement must also be disciplined. Officers must be trained in ethics, crash investigation, public communication, emergency response coordination, and professional traffic enforcement. Drivers must know that enforcement is not harassment; it is public protection.

The Liberia National Transport Union must also be fully involved. Taxi drivers, bus drivers, truck drivers, motorcyclists, and tricycle operators are central to road safety. Mandatory driver education and refresher training should be organized for union members across the country. Drivers must be trained on speed control, overtaking, fatigue, tire safety, alcohol and drug risks, vehicle maintenance, and passenger responsibility.

Public education is equally important. Passengers must learn to speak up when drivers speed. Communities must stop protecting reckless drivers. Vehicle owners must stop putting unsafe cars on the road. Police must enforce the law without fear or favor.

The Suakoko tragedy should be a turning point. We cannot continue to bury Liberians because of preventable road crashes. The Monrovia, Ganta road should be a corridor of commerce, education, family connection, and national development, not a corridor of coffins.

Liberia must act now. Fund the LNP. Train the drivers. Educate the public. Enforce the law. Save lives.