Liberia News

Monrovia, 28 January 2016 - During a high-level meeting held on 18-20 January, the Ministry of Health of Liberia moved a step forward with plans for the establishment of a national public health institute (PHI). This is one of the priority components of the Liberia plan for building a resilient health system 2015-2021.

The road to the 200-bed Redemption Hospital in Monrovia is unpaved. During the rainy season it is full of potholes and mud. Patients may have difficulty arriving, but they come, because Redemption is the only public facility in the area and serves some 90 000 people. In August 2014, the hospital was at the center of the Ebola epidemic in Liberia. It quickly became overwhelmed and, for a time, had to close its inpatient department.

Over a month has passed since Ebola transmission ceased in Liberia. This hard-fought achievement is still being celebrated across the country, where nearly 11,000 people became infected with the virus and 4,800 died. Liberia is still urging communities not to let their guard down until Ebola is gone from the region. They are working closely with WHO and other partners to keep Ebola from re-emerging.

Monrovia, 20 May 2016 - The Ministry of Health Liberia with support from the World Health Organization, Development and Implementing Partners initiated a comprehensive training program for its County Health Teams and Health facility Managers as part of the health system strengthening plan. This is aimed at building the capacity at county level to implement integrated and people-centered operational plans for better health care service delivery.

WHO statement 
1 April 2016

Lab results confirm a new case of Ebola virus disease in Liberia — a 30-year-old woman who died yesterday afternoon while being transferred to a hospital in the capital Monrovia.

Liberia’s Ministry of Health, WHO and partner agencies immediately sent a team to the community outside Monrovia where the woman lived and the clinic where she was being treated to begin case investigation and identification of individuals who may have been in contact with her.

14 January 2016 -- Today, WHO declares the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia and says all known chains of transmission have been stopped in West Africa. But the Organization says the job is not over, more flare-ups are expected and that strong surveillance and response systems will be critical in the months to come.

Monrovia, 31 August 2015 – The Ministry of Health in collaboration with the West Africa Health Organization (WAHO), World Health Organization (WHO) and the Traditional Medicine Federation of Liberia (TRAMEDFOL) has celebrated the 13th African Traditional Medicine Day on August 31, 2015 in Liberia, with a call from the WHO for countries to institute reliable regulatory systems that supports activities of qualified practitioners.

Monrovia, 10 June 2015 – The Ebola outbreak that began in Guinea in March 2014 not only caused more than 27 000 cases and over 11 000 deaths in West Africa, it also left thousands of survivors, orphans, family members, health care workers and other support workers who require mental health and psychosocial support.

Monrovia, 4 May - Jamese a fourth grade student aged 10 from Ganta United Methodist School who was the first girl to receive the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine said “I feel fine”. This was during the launch of the regional African Vaccination Week held jointly with the World Malaria Day commemoration in Ganta, Nimba County on 25th April, 2016. HPV vaccine has been introduced in Liberia to help to protect more than 14,000 girls at risk, against a virus that causes cervical cancer.

As many as 1 in 5 Liberians suffer a mild to moderate mental disorder, according to WHO estimates, yet the country has only one registered psychiatrist and, until recently, the vast majority of health workers had a limited understanding of mental illness.

This is changing however, as WHO and partners are helping to equip health workers across the country with the skills to provide front-line care for people with mental illness.