Congratulations, Liberia!

Congratulations, Mama Liberia. In the five years we have known you, you have crawled your way from the bottom of the UN's Human Development Index up to place 169 (out of 182). Below you lies only Guinea, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Burundi, Chad, D R Congo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Niger; the only other 13 countries in the world that are poorer than you. Incidentally, Benin (location for the Africa Mercy's 2009 Field Service) is at 161 in the HDI, and Togo (location for the 2010 Africa Mercy Field Service) is at 159. Olly