(Buchanan Grand Bassa County, April 30, 2025)—Dr. Catherine T. Cooper, Chief Medical Officer-RL/Deputy Minister for Health Services of the Republic of Liberia has urged the county health teams to place service delivery at the center of their operations.
Speaking during the District Health Management Team (DHMT) contextualization workshop in the Port City of Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, Dr. Cooper called for a strengthened coordination and a clearer understanding of team roles for the effectuation and sustainability of quality service delivery across the length and breadth of Liberia. “We realized over time, since our administration took office, that it is critical to strengthen our health system, starting with the district level, which can be aligned in capacity and importance to our County Health Teams,” she said. According to Dr. Cooper, while the Ministry of Health has been implementing district-level interventions for over a year, internal assessments have shown gaps in understanding responsibilities and service expectations. “Through our analysis and assessment, we discovered that teams in the counties must fully grasp their roles and responsibilities,” she noted.
The CMO: “They need to ensure they prioritize service delivery and know exactly what each person on the team is expected to do. With that understanding, the team will work more cohesively and deliver better outcomes.” The workshop also marks the beginning of Liberia’s adoption of WHO’s District Health Management Training Modules, a globally recognized toolkit for strengthening health systems.
Dr. Cooper explained: “The WHO has a module being used around the world to help teams become strong. It covers various components of health management, and we are going to use this to build our system.” The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with UNICEF, is leading the adaptation of these modules to suit Liberia’s specific context. It is geared towards enhancing the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation capacities of County Health Teams.
Unveiling the secret behind the workshop, Dr. Cooper said: “Our goal is to ensure these modules are not only effective but also user-friendly, culturally appropriate, and aligned with national health strategies and priorities.” The workshop is the Ministry’s broader goal of fostering a decentralized but unified health system that delivers quality care at all levels. “With the right tools and clear direction,” she concluded, “our teams can lead the transformation we seek in Liberia’s health system.”