The Trump administration’s deep cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development have been devastating around the world, but perhaps nowhere more so than in Liberia — one of the world’s poorest nations and a country with longstanding ties to the United States.
Monika Pronczuk and Annie Risemberg spent a week on the ground in Liberia, crisscrossing the country to document the real-life consequences of USAID’s budget being cut in half. They saw hospitals running out of sanitizer and gloves, empty medicine shelves, unpaid community health workers and ambulances without fuel.
Their reporting was deeply human: women walking hours through the jungle in search of contraceptives, children going without essential medications, and families left adrift as basic health infrastructure crumbled.
The all-formats package was a vivid, sobering reminder that foreign aid decisions made in Washington have lasting consequences thousands of miles away. The work included powerful visuals and sharp storytelling, combining policy expertise with emotional resonance.
For capturing the long-tail impact of U.S. policy on everyday lives, Monika Pronczuk and Annie Risemberg earn a Best of the Week citation.
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