In 1822, Liberia was founded and colonized by an American colonial society (The National Colonization Society of America) to relocate former African American slaves from the United States and the Caribbean region. On July 26, 1847, Liberia became an independent republic, and was the first nation in Africa to gain independence.

In 1960, Liberia entered a period of twenty years of prosperity, mainly due to concessions granted to foreign multinationals (mainly American and German) for the exploitation of natural resources such as iron.

In 1989, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), an opposition group under Charles Taylor, created a rebellion, to which ensued the first civil war. In July 1997, Charles Taylor was elected President of the Republic.

In 1999, a new rebellion in northern Liberia marks the beginning of Liberia’s second civil war. It is only in 2003, after the departure of Charles Taylor that the political transition is organized, under the close control of the UN. In November 2003, the current President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected to presidency.

From the end of 2013 to the end of 2015, the Ebola epidemic of West Africa hit Liberia, as well as Sierra Leone and Guinea. More than 28,000 people were

Life expectancy in Liberia is estimated at 57.4 years (2012). The lack of food is an important issue in the country. For instance, Liberia imports 90% of its rice from abroad. Maternal mortality is high, and diseases such as tuberculosis, diarrhea and malaria place a heavy burden on the country. The civil war which ended in 2003 destroyed about 95% of the country’s health system. Furthermore, the Ebola virus further weakened the health system, including its workforce. Since the eradication of the Ebola virus, the entire health system is in the rebuilding process. The shortage of medical personnel, including dentists, is highlighted by the below statistics:

In Switzerland, we have about 5’700 dentists for 8 million inhabitants². In Liberia, there are 23 dentists for 4 million inhabitants ³ of whom more than half have not completed their training. Imagine, this would mean about 50 dentists covering all of Switzerland..

Liberian cooking is mainly based on rice. It is the country’s staple food. Other common foods are cassava, fish, bananas, citrus fruits, plantains, coconut, okra and sweet potatoes. The spicy stews with habanero peppers or scotch bonnet (different kinds of peppers) are popular and eaten with fufu (crushed flour that is boiled). Liberia also has a tradition of imported pastries from the United States that is unique in West Afric