MONROVIA – Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan, Director-General of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), has called on Liberians in the Diaspora to return home with their skills and expertise to help build the country.
His statement on Saturday, September 27, 2025, followed President Joseph Boakai’s keynote address at the inaugural Liberia Annual Diaspora Conference taking place in Washington, DC.
“Congratulations on holding another Liberia-Diaspora Conference that is bringing together the government and our people from home and abroad to discuss how together we can move Liberia forward on the wheels of progress,” Dr. Nyan said.
“While at it, I would like to reiterate my call for the Liberian diaspora to come home with your skills and expertise to contribute to the building of our dear country,” the scientist pleaded.
Dr. Nyan acknowledged the challenges that many Liberians abroad fear, noting reports of diaspora expertise being undervalued or undermined. He admitted that some returnees had failed to live up to expectations, disappointing the Liberian people.
However, he urged his colleagues not to be discouraged, stressing that “another segment of Liberian society remains progressive, patriotic, and ready to support those who want to work toward transparency, efficiency, and national growth.”
“Please come home at your own pace,” he added. “I came home a year ago, and here at NPHIL where I work with my colleagues fighting public health threats.”
“This conference is not symbolic,” President Boakai declared. “It is a platform to ensure that Liberians abroad are treated not as observers but as full stakeholders in the future of our country.”
Reflecting on Liberia’s 178 years of independence in a speech titled “Renewing Liberia Together: Building a Future of Opportunity for All,” the President praised the founding ideals of freedom and dignity but admitted that inequality, systemic injustice, and failed leadership had undermined progress.
“For too long, we have prioritized building the state over building the nation. The neglect of any part of society becomes our Achilles heel,” he said.
The diaspora conference, held on Friday, September 26, brought together Liberians from North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. President Boakai, delivering his address under the theme “Building the Future Together: Reconciliation, National Healing, Growth, and Prosperity,” urged Liberians abroad to move beyond remittances and take on a transformative role in shaping the nation’s renewal.
The gathering marked what both President Boakai and Dr. Nyan described as a new opportunity for partnership, one where the diaspora is seen not as distant supporters but as active builders of Liberia’s future.
Dr. Nyan, a renowned biomedical scientist and inventor, returned home in August 2024 after years of unpaid voluntary services to Liberia and around the continent. He became Director General of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) through a vetting process and subsequent appointment by President Joseph Boakai.
Dr. Nyan’s leadership has elevated the standard of the NPHIL as well as its regional and international credibility. He recently received the African Genius Award 2025 for his scientific, public health, and technical contribution to the African continent.