(Monrovia, Liberia, August 6, 2025) — The Ministry of Health (MOH) and the CapaCare Liberia on today convened a nationwide health care assessment meeting in Monrovia to present findings from a comprehensive review of Liberia’s surgical system. The meeting brought together key health sector stakeholders to evaluate progress made since a similar surgical assessment was conducted in 2018.
The event opened with remarks from Dr. Catherine T. Cooper, Deputy Minister of Health Services and Chief Medical Officer of the Republic of Liberia. She welcomed participants and emphasized the importance of the assessment in informing policy and improving services. “Today, we are receiving feedback from an assessment conducted by CapaCare on our nationwide surgical activities,” Dr. Cooper stated. “This report will give us a deeper understanding of what was found in the field, and we’ll have the opportunity to interact and engage with the data.” She reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to working alongside CapaCare, the Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons (LCPS), and other partners to address the gaps in surgical care and ensure equitable access to health services across the country.
“As we engage these findings today, our focus will be to ask the hard questions, reflect on the gaps, and propose forward-thinking solutions that can benefit all Liberians, regardless of geography,” she added.
The assessment, led by CapaCare Liberia’s Country Director, Dr. Juul Bakker, is a retrospective, descriptive epidemiological study. It examined surgical volume, provider distribution, infrastructure, and unmet needs across all government-run secondary and tertiary health facilities, including military hospitals, as well as private, faith-based, and for-profit institutions where surgeries were performed between 2023 and 2024.
According to Dr. Bakker, the study had four core objectives: to quantify surgical volume and unmet needs, map the distribution of surgical human resources, assess the state of infrastructure, and compare current indicators to those recorded in 2018. “Our aim was to qualify surgical performance in Liberia by comparing it to data from 2018,” Dr. Bakker explained. “This includes looking at where surgical services are improving and where disparities remain.”
The findings revealed a combination of progress and ongoing challenges. Notably, there was more than 50% increase in surgical operations over the past six to seven years, signaling a significant improvement in Liberia’s surgical capacity.
Responding to the findings, Prof. Peter S. Coleman, Vice President for Surgery at the Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons (LCPS), praised the study for its depth and relevance. “Your research gives us critical data for planning surgical training,” Prof. Coleman noted. “Since 2018, LCPS has graduated 35 general surgeons and 45 obstetrician-gynecologists. The study confirms that the number of surgical service providers has increased significantly.”
Stakeholders in attendance, including representatives from government institutions, medical training schools, and international partners, expressed strong support for using the data to guide national health policies and planning efforts.
The national surgical assessment report presented by CapaCare is expected to play a key role in shaping the next phase of Liberia’s surgical care system. This includes targeted deployment of surgical specialists and strategic allocation of resources to underserved areas.