By Tina S. Mehnpaine
MONROVIA – Young Liberian innovators are stepping up to create life-changing, technology-driven solutions to address persistent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) challenges across the country. The YMCA, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has launched a national SRHR hackathon to empower youth aged 13 to 35 to develop tech-based remedies for some of Liberia’s most pressing health issues.
Caesar Morris, CEO of Banjoo Superstore, a subsidiary of Albright Inc., admonished the participants that they have a challenge, they must find the solution, a pivotal role where Health and Technology meet, at least they can use AI to idealize use cases to match a solution to solve a problem. The initiative, themed “Innovating for Change: Youth-Led Tech Solutions for Inclusive Access to SRHR Awareness,” kicked off with its first technical participants’ meeting, bringing together a diverse group of college students, health experts, and tech consultants.
The gathering focused on critical skills like pitch deck development, use case design, and brainstorming innovative ways to expand access to vital SRHR information, particularly for those in rural areas.
“What you see is a small intervention,” said Calixte Hessou, Programme Specialist, Youth & Adolescent Empowerment, Participation and Leadership, UNFPA Liberia. “Don’t see it as something small; if it comes out well, we will be collaborating with other partners.”
He recalled him and the team spending sleepless nights to coin a platform that helps young people prevent unplanned pregnancies. Young people are empowered.” Hessou encouraged the teams to focus their efforts on solutions that could reach marginalized communities, including people living with disabilities and residents in rural communities with limited internet access.
Teenage pregnancy is a serious concern, with a high rate of about 38% among girls aged 15-19. This contributes to high school dropout rates and is a major factor in maternal deaths. The hackathon is designed to tackle a range of real-world challenges, with teams proposing solutions that are both culturally sensitive and technologically feasible. Potential ideas include a multilingual SRHR chatbot that operates offline, a peer-to-peer storytelling platform to combat social stigma, and an app that helps young girls track their menstrual cycles and find affordable menstrual products.
Other proposed projects include a safe space locator for gender-based violence survivors and an SMS-based alert system for low-tech communities.
These innovative proposals are aimed at addressing key barriers such as low literacy rates, limited access to healthcare facilities, and cultural taboos that prevent open discussions about SRHR topics.
“We are happy to see young people develop solutions for issue that affects them said Bendu Kamara, Program Officer at Community Health Initiative (CHI). CHI is part of the panelist team.
Kamara highlighted that access to affordable and accessible reproductive health services is a serious challenge, leading to high mortality rates from unsafe abortions. She expressed hope that the hackathon would produce innovative ideas to address these issues. She praised the inclusivity of the event, which she sees as a major strength. The competition follows a clear timeline, with a final awards ceremony scheduled for October 25, 2025. The top three teams will receive cash prizes of $500, $350, and $200, respectively, to help further develop their solutions.
The judging criteria emphasize relevance to Liberia’s context, user-centered design, innovation, and ethical approach. Participants are required to deliver a working prototype and present a clear plan for implementation and scalability, ensuring that their solutions can have a lasting impact on youth across Liberia. The hackathon represents a critical step toward empowering the next generation to use their skills to build a healthier, more equitable future for their communities.
The event opening was graced by the National Secretary General of the YMCA, Liberia, Vonyee Newton Kolison. From the YMCA, Liberia, Ydigital Startup Lab, an Innovative space for incubating the SRHR hackathon, and its Information Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) manager, Nynati Gibson Doepoh, assured the participants that the process of vetting will be led by its 21 international panelists and tech support team, judges. According to him, they will have all the necessary support to take their ideation, concept, proof of concept, to Minimum Value Product (MVP) supporting process with 24 Use cases, and tool kits for participants to use.
