On October 24, President George Weah unveiled the ambitious Accelerated Community Development Programme (ACDP), which aims to enable Liberians escape poverty, raise their standard of living, live healthier, longer lives, and lessen glaring disparities between rural and urban areas. The Program will concentrate on underprivileged individuals in rural and urban areas who have little access to fundamental social services and infrastructure.

As a demonstration of its dedication and resolve to further the nation's general human development, the Liberian government has already contributed USD3 million to help launch the initiative this year. For the program's first three years, from 2022 to 2025, the government hopes to raise $100 million.

The Liberian government is presently working with other development partners with UNDP's assistance to obtain the complete funding required to end poverty for all Liberians by the year 2030.

During the UN Day celebrations at the One UN House in Monrovia, H. E. President George Weah stated, "The Accelerated Community Development Programme is a flagship program of the Government of Liberia situated in the Office of the President meant to benefit all Liberians. It will be implemented with community involvement by producing tangible benefits for the people of Liberia."

The steering committee for the program will be presided over by President Weah.

In order to guarantee that everyone in Liberia achieves development goals, according to UN Resident Coordinator Niels Scott, the UN in Liberia will gradually spend more of its operations "downstream" at county and village level.

The Accelerated Community Development Programme (ACDP) aims to meet the felt needs of people living in poverty by enhancing access to clean, affordable energy, water and sanitation, rural feeder roads, health clinics, schools, and vocational training facilities, market facilities, irrigation systems, and agricultural tools and equipment for farmers to help them increase food production. For local workers hired on short- and long-term contracts for construction and repair projects, the program will create jobs.

Since the end of the civil war, one of Liberia's major investments in community development has been the ACDP. It aims to improve access to fundamental social and economic services and reduce inequality, especially for underprivileged Liberians residing in rural areas. This is the core of the SDG agenda; no one in Liberia should be left behind in terms of growth and development, regardless of who they are or where they live, according to Stephen Rodriques, UNDP's resident representative in Liberia.

Liberia has a poverty rate of 50.9%, with rural areas seeing a higher rate (71.6%) of poverty than urban areas (31.5%).

Approximately 50.9% of persons in rural areas, compared to 28.1% in urban areas, experience food insecurity, which is a serious problem. Although Liberia has a low level of electrification overall, the situation is grave in rural areas where only 3% of people have access to electricity.

The initiative draws on the achievements of nations like Senegal, Togo, and the Gambia. The approach, which was initially tested in Senegal, has been successful in helping countries accelerate rural development and lower poverty and inequality.