While at a press conference with Secretary Clinton on Wednesday, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf—the first democratically elected female President in Africa—noted the importance of U.S. aid to her country. In response to a reporter’s question (directed towards Secretary Clinton) about the effectiveness of U.S. aid, Sirleaf remarked:

“Secretary Clinton, let me not let that impression go unaddressed. It is not correct to say that U.S. aid has not had an impact. If you look at where we were two and a half years ago and you look at the development today under each of our four pillars in the poverty reduction strategy, you see roads being constructed…you see farms starting to operate again.”

Liberia’s four poverty reduction strategies are: consolidating peace and security, revitalizing the economy, strengthening governance and the rule of law, and rebuilding infrastructure and delivering basic services.

To read the full remarks from the press conference, click here.

To read more African SMART Aid success stories, click here.

-Kara Arsenault