Misleading! 60% of Liberians do not practice open defecation

Claim: A Liberian economist asserted that “60% of Liberians are defecating outside.” 

Verdict: Findings from the National Census and World Bank show that around 35% of Liberians defecate in the open. 

Full Text

It is a fact that Liberia is one of the world’s poorest countries. Reports of Liberia’s underdevelopment have been attributed to poor governance, social injustice, and exploitation. 

To highlight the poverty in the West African country, an economist, Samuel Jackson,  made a staggering claim about the open defecation rate in Liberia when he appeared on a political show on Spoon Network.

He added, “60% of us are defecating outside. We are pooping outside. And in Monrovia, they are putting it in the plastics.” 

He can be heard from 1:45:13 to 1:45:27 of the show.

As of this report, 80k Facebook users had viewed the show, with 4.4k comments and 1.3k reactions. 

Given how high the number sounded, DUBAWA verified the truthfulness of Jackson’s assertion.

Verification

After checking Liberia’s 2022 Population and Housing Census, DUBAWA discovered that about 32% of Liberians use open defecation, contrary to Mr Jackson’s claim.

Another recent report by the World Bank in 2022 about people practising open defecation sets Liberia at 35%, a slight increase from the National Census results.

Mr. Jackson was contacted to provide the source of his information but has not contacted DUBAWA as of the writing of this article.  

Conclusion

Based on Liberia’s census and housing data, Samuel Jackson’s claim that 60% of Liberians practice open defecation is misleading.