(October 26, 2021, Congo Town, Monrovia, Liberia)—Liberia’s Health Minister Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah along with team of officials at the Ministry of Health on Tuesday, October 26, 2021, received a huge entourage headed by the Republic of Sierra Leone Vice President Mohammed Juldeh Jalloh.

The Sierra Leonean Vice President told Dr. Jallah and her Technicians that their visit to the Ministry was met to get firsthand information on how Liberia’s Health System is managed; and henceforth, build future bilateral relations that would enhance the provision of quality health services between the two Mano River Nations.

“Madam Minister, I supposed to be here with my health advisor, but I am sorry she’s on different assignments. Anyway, we have purposely come to get information on hospital management and its decentralization in Liberia’s. Because we have almost met the threshold of the Abuja Declaration, which calls for African Union Countries to allocate at least 15% of annual budget to improve the Health Sector.

“As we approach 2023, our government has allocated much to the health Sector with still little improvements in areas, which need urgent attention,” VP Jalloh told the gathering.

However, disclosing to the Sierra Leonean VP and his entourage, Dr Jallah assessed the country’s health administrative structure from decentralization to its complimentary components that are responsible for the day-to-day affairs of various health facilities’ functions across the Country.

“Mr Vice President, I want to say you are wholeheartedly welcome to visit us at the Ministry of Health. However, our health system is structure in the way that the County Health Officers are trained to manage our hospitals across the nation”, Dr. Jallah in a brief remark.

In the context of overseeing health administrators to provide effective and efficient management of medical centers, managing clinical operations, liaising between the administration and medical staff, and ensuring that patients receive the highest standard of medical care, Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Francis Kateh told the visiting guests that the health system is annexed in three tiers of care – primary, secondary, and tertiary.

Placing emphasis on the primary health system, Dr Kateh said this strategy was designed to get community dwellers in the health care delivery system by recruiting them to serve as primary health care providers in their respective communities, giving that almost two-thirds of Liberian households are located outside of facility locations.

“This necessitated a different approach to bridge the gap between available workforce and local health and service delivery needs. Consequently, the decision was made to adopt more informal methods. For example, a corps of Community Health Workers, equipped, trained, well supported, and recognized as a formal cadre within the County Health Teams would link dispersed populations to services and facilities at reasonable cost, and would form the backbone of Liberia’s rural health delivery strategy”, Dr Kateh.

Signed: ________________________

           Felecia Gbesioh

           Director of Communications, MOH, RL.