Monrovia, Liberia — A prominent Liberian children’s advocate has condemned the publication of sensitive personal information belonging to vulnerable children, calling for an urgent independent investigation into how the data was obtained and made public.
Courage Sundberg, CEO of the Sundberg Health Capacity Development Initiative (SHECDI) and a Gold Image Award winner for children’s advocacy, issued the condemnation in response to a social media post by Mr. Mohammed Ali, Managing Director of the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation. According to Sundberg, the post disclosed children’s names, ages, sex, and schools.
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has since confirmed that the documents presented by Mr. Ali are authentic — a development Sundberg says raises serious child-safeguarding concerns.
“Having worked with vulnerable children for over 30 years, I find this deeply disturbing,” Sundberg said. “When children are already vulnerable, our responsibility is to reduce their vulnerability, not increase it by exposing their identities to the public.”
Sundberg emphasized that providing assistance to a child does not strip that child of their right to privacy, dignity, and protection. “Providing assistance to a child does not remove that child’s right to privacy, dignity and protection,” he stated.
Sundberg is now calling on UNICEF Liberia and UNICEF internationally to urgently and independently investigate the circumstances surrounding the disclosure and publication of the children’s information, and to ensure appropriate measures are taken to protect those affected.
“Children deserve protection, not exposure,” Sundberg said.
The incident has renewed concerns about data protection and child-safeguarding practices in Liberia, particularly regarding how sensitive information on vulnerable minors is handled by institutions and individuals entrusted with their care.
Courage Sundberg is the CEO of the Liberian Youth Christian Foundation (LYCF) and the Sundberg Health Capacity Development Initiative (SHECDI).
