The Centre for African Policy Research and Advisory (CAfPRA) convened a press briefing in Liberia to sound the alarm on the aggressive promotion of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) initiatives. These foreign-funded efforts, we warn, threaten core African values, family structures, and the innocence of our children.
Dr. Segun Adebayo, Executive Director of CAfPRA, opened the session by drawing attention to the widespread sponsorship of SRHR campaigns across Liberia. Billboards and public events promoting slogans such as “It is my body, I want to do what I want with it” have become commonplace. He noted that over $20 million has been channeled into these initiatives, primarily from organizations like RFSU, an entity known for manufacturing sex toys, promoting LGBT lifestyles, and distributing contraceptives.
“There is currently no international law that genuinely backs or supports so-called ‘sexual rights’ as currently interpreted,” Dr. Adebayo stated. “These interpretations are advanced by organizations and individuals who stand to benefit directly from the very agendas they promote.”
Protecting Children’s Innocence and Parental Authority
Speakers expressed profound concern over plans to introduce Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) into Liberian schools, beginning in the earliest grades. Pastor William Marshall, representing the Loveworld Nation’s Ministry of Children Affairs, stressed the critical need to safeguard children and strengthen families.
“Parents remain the primary educators of their children and must retain a central role in shaping their moral and educational development,” Pastor Marshall declared. He criticized curriculum elements that encourage young children to reflect on sexual decisions and called for full transparency in curriculum development, meaningful parental involvement, and an education system rooted in character formation, literacy, numeracy, and vocational skills rather than premature exposure to adult concepts.
Dr. Adebayo and fellow speakers highlighted troubling content in proposed materials, including explicit illustrations and teachings on sexual positions and gender issues reportedly targeted at children as young as seven. Such content, they argued, directly undermines parental authority and erodes the cultural and religious values that define Liberia as a predominantly Christian nation.
Foreign Funding, Abortion, and Cultural Imperialism
Ambassador Chris Iyama drew sobering parallels with similar campaigns in Nigeria, where massive international funding has been used to influence national policy. He described such interventions in Liberia as “a grave insult to the sovereignty of our nation” and urged the media to serve as the conscience of society.
“This particular engagement with sexual and reproductive health rights is alien to Africa. It is not our culture,” Ambassador Iyama affirmed. He called on all Liberian stakeholders to reject these initiatives outright and redirect resources toward genuine national priorities: reconstruction, skills development, and authentic empowerment of citizens.
Pastor Alfred Mayson of Christ Embassy Painesville reinforced the faith-based rejection of LGBT ideologies and Comprehensive Sex Education, describing them as both anti-Christian and culturally foreign. He spotlighted Christ Embassy’s impactful vocational training programs, which have benefited thousands, and urged parliamentarians to resist any amendments to the public health law that would decriminalize abortion or advance SRHR agendas.
CAfPRA and partnering organizations issue the following urgent calls:
- Investigate the proposed curriculum on the Ministry of Education website, particularly the social studies components for Grades 1–6 and related Grade 5 activities.
- Engage Parliament immediately to block harmful legislative amendments.
- Mobilize public awareness and resist the “boiling frog” strategy of gradual normalization.
- Prioritize family strengthening, moral education, and practical skills development over externally driven programs of sexualization.
Dr. Adebayo emphasized that organizations such as Loveworld and Christ Embassy are not merely opposing harmful policies; they are actively building positive alternatives through free schools, vocational training programs that have already served over 13,000 beneficiaries, and robust community support initiatives.
Addressing Journalists
In response to questions regarding limited exceptions for abortion (such as risk to the mother’s life or cases of incest) and claims that sex education prevents poor choices, speakers maintained that the family and the church remain the proper institutions for moral and sexual guidance. They warned that CSE packages explicit content, gender ideology, and direct challenges to parental authority under the guise of “rights,” often without clear age-appropriate safeguards.
CAfPRA and its partners remain resolute in sustaining this advocacy across Liberia and the broader African continent. Our goal is to protect children, preserve families, and defend national sovereignty against policies incompatible with African realities and sound international human rights principles.
We strongly encourage journalists, policymakers, and citizens to independently examine the curricula, funding sources, and proposed legislative changes. This briefing reflects a growing continental pushback against externally imposed policies that prioritize ideological agendas over child protection, family integrity, and cultural self-determination. Africa must chart its own path rooted in its values.