Liberia
Liberia is now in a period of peace and reconstruction after years of intermittent and violent civil war. More than 250,000 people were killed when Charles Taylor launched a rebellion against the military regime of Samuel Doe during the 1990s. Years of conflict displaced 600,000 of the country’s three million inhabitants and caused widespread human suffering.
The civil conflict ended in 2003 but many people still face challenges.
Liberia has the fifth-highest under-five mortality rate in the world. The rate of HIV infection is steadily increasing and access to health care is limited. Liberia's population is nearly four million, but there are only 120 doctors and three dentists in the entire country. There is a great need for professional medical training, dental care, primary health care and community health education.
Medical Teams International sent its first volunteer team to Liberia in September 2003 after Charles Taylor fled the country. During that time, it is estimated that 464,000 people were internally displaced because of the war. Basic services were disrupted and health facilities severely damaged.
Medical Teams International received a grant for an Emergency Health Care program from the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) for $441,500 in December 2003 and an extension grant in August 2004 for $871,600. Our work with the Emergency Health Care program provided health care services for 590,000 people and provided direct medical services to more than 161,000 beneficiaries.
Since 2006, Medical Teams International has been partnering with the Christian Health Association of Liberia (CHAL) and the Liberia Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to implement a Child Survival Project (CSP) in Grand Cape Mount County. Funded by United States Agency for International Development, the project directly benefits 21,429 children under 5 years of age and 29,941 women of reproductive age in Grand Cape Mount County with a total population of 127,070.
The CSP project supports Liberia's recently adopted program on Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), a proven approach to addressing the leading causes of child morbidity (sickness) and mortality (death). The project devotes 30 percent of our effort/funding to nutrition (including breastfeeding, maternal nutrition and micro-nutrients), 20 percent to pneumonia case management, 20 percent to controlling diarrheal disease, 10 percent to immunizations and 20 percent to malaria prevention and treatment. The project benefits the entire population (129,055 people) of Grand Cape Mount County. The October 2008 project midterm evaluation showed that the project met or exceeded midterm targets for 11 of 14 indicators (78%) in each of the project intervention areas. Of special interest is a reduction in child under-nutrition from 27.1% to 20.8%. As a result of collaboration with the President’s Malaria Initiative, more than two-thirds of children under age two are sleeping under long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets. The project has facilitated IMCI training for 42 health professionals and has conducted intensive follow-up and mentoring visits with those trained.
In July 2009, Medical Teams International began implementation of the Rebuilding Basic Health Services (RBHS) project. In collaboration with the Liberia Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and partner organization African Development Network (ADEN), the project will increase access to basic health care services in Grand Cape Mount, Bomi and Montserrado counties supported through a sub-grant from John Snow Incorporated (JSI). Project objectives are: 1) Improved delivery of Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) by strengthening management of health facilities and outreach services and introducing quality assurance, supervision measures and community financing; 2) Expansion of selected services to communities by building the capacity of the County Health Teams, Community Health and Development Committees and Community Health Volunteers to implement the BPHS; and 3) Strengthened capacity of Grand Cape Mount, Bomi and Montserrado CHTs to manage a decentralized health system and BPHS. The project will support the implementation of BPHS at 25 health facilities (22 health clinics and 3 health centers) and improve the health of 142,749 people living in communities.
We have deployed 45 teams of volunteer medical and dental professionals to Liberia since 2003. Our volunteers have provided direct medical and dental services, improved access to primary health care and built the capacity of local health care providers. Volunteers have worked with personnel from the Ministry of Health, Liberian physicians, nurses, dental hygienists and pharmacy technicians. We operate a main office in the capital city of Monrovia and a sub-office in Grand Cape Mount County.
In 2010 we will be completing the final year of the four-year Child Survival Project and implementing Year Two of the RBHS Project.
In addition, Medical Teams International will send 2-3 volunteer dental teams to provide dental services and preventive dental hygiene education at Trinity Dental Clinic which is operated by Serving in Mission. Medical Teams International will also send one volunteer ophthalmologist to serve with our partner, Ganta Methodist Hospital Eye Project. Volunteers of the following specialties are still needed for these teams: dentists, hygienists, dental assistants and ophthalmologists.
Medical Teams International is a registered non-governmental organization in Liberia that has established by-laws. Medical Teams International-Liberia has a satellite office in Grand Cape Mount County, and a country office in Monrovia. The programs and offices are led by Country Director Gayah Kezele. Our staff has a strong record of providing high quality and sustainable health services and health education. In addition, Medical Teams International-Liberia has established a good working relationship with the local community as well as district health offices, nongovernmental organizations, community health workers and other organizations. We partner with the following agencies in Liberia:
- The Christian Health Association of Liberia (CHAL) is an ecumenical association developed by the Lutheran Church and established in 1975. CHAL operates today as a consortium of Christian health ministries that collaborate to provide health care services and to procure and distribute medial supplies. CHAL distributed Medical Teams International's container shipments of medicines and supplies to more than 20 hospitals and clinics in all 15 counties of Liberia. Currently, CHAL is helping implement the community outreach component of the Child Survival Project.
- African Development Network (ADEN) is a locally registered Liberian Non-Government Organization based in Grand Cape Mount County and has 13 years of experience in delivering quality water and sanitation programs.
- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting rural clinics, community health services and strengthening the capacity of organizations that promote and deliver health care in order to rehabilitate health services in Liberia. USAID awards financial assistance to private voluntary organizations (PVOs) and their in-country partners through the Child Survival and Health Grants Program (CSHGP). This program aims to reduce infant, child, maternal and infectious disease-related morbidity and mortality rates.
- Medical Teams International has been awarded a sub-grant by JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) to assist in the Rebuilding Basic Health Services (RBHS) project in Liberia. RBHS is supported by USAID and implemented by JSI. JSI and its staff have worked to improve health services in more than 800 projects in 102 countries and are dedicated to improving the health of individuals and communities throughout the world.
- Serving in Mission (SIM) established Trinity Dental Clinic in 2007. With only three licensed dentists in Liberia, dental care is virtually nonexistent. This year, the SIM dental program will provide desperately needed dental services through its clinic and operate mobile-dental programs in rural areas of Liberia. Holistic treatment is emphasized, restoring spiritual as well as physical health by proclaiming the love and freedom that can be found in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
- The Ganta Methodist Hospital Eye Project provides specialized eye care services to 468,088 in Nimba County and is the only option for eye care service delivery in the entire northeastern region of Liberia. The project is committed to also providing spiritual sight through devotion and sharing the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ with patients and relatives.
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