Allison Hunter

Liberia without aid.

In Monrovia, small business owners reeled from the sudden withdrawal of U.S. foreign aid — while along the coast, rising seas erased homes the government has yet to replace.

6 photographs

A pregnant woman in a patterned red-and-white top and green leaf-print skirt stands at a banana stall in a busy outdoor market, holding a parasol pole and looking directly at the camera.
Julie Sundaygar used to sell twice as much from her fruit stand in downtown Monrovia before USAID left.
A man in a white collarless shirt sits at a desk with a laptop, looking toward the camera, surrounded by framed certificates and awards on the wall behind him.
Luther Jeke, CEO of Innovation Campus, lost a quarter of space rental bookings.
A woman stands behind a counter in a small pharmacy, surrounded by white shelves; about a third are bare and two thirds are stocked with medications, supplements, and health products. She faces the camera directly with a neutral expression.
Oumu Sal struggles to stock basic medicine for her Right Choice pharmacy in Monrovia, Liberia. She opened it shortly before USAID left.
A woman with long red braids and a yellow t-shirt leans against a concrete wall, looking slightly upward with a calm expression. Warm daylight catches her face; a painted column and a red-barred window are visible beside her.
Caroline Armah downsized her baby food business after USAID withdrew grant funding.
A man in a white chef's coat leans against a counter, looking directly at the camera. Behind him, a wall is covered in bold, colorful African wax-print fabric in geometric patterns of teal, orange, yellow, and red.
Chef Jacob poses at his Safe Zone Let's Eat restaurant at a guest house in downtown Monrovia. He struggles to attract customers after aid workers left Liberia.
A woman stands beneath the skeletal wooden frame of a storm-damaged structure on a sandy beach. The walls behind her are painted blue, green, and purple; corrugated metal panels line the sides.
Anita Johnson stands outside her West Point home in Monrovia, at risk of coastal erosion. The government plans to build a seawall at the end of the year.
A man in a blue t-shirt stands on a littered beach, one hand on his hip and the other raised to hold his hat against the wind. Behind him, plastic waste and debris pile up along the shoreline beside weathered wooden structures; ocean waves and a fishing community are visible in the distance.
Mohamed Carew's West Point home was swept away by erosion. A government rebuilding plan has stalled.