Sanniquellie City, Nimba County — Community Health Education and Social Services (CHESS–Liberia) on Tuesday, August 4 held an inception meeting with the Nimba County Health Team (CHT) to launch a U.S. State Department–Funded Project to strengthen community facility linkages and improve maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH).
By Franklin Doloquee / Nimba County
CHESS Executive Director, John Alexander Nyahn Jr., told reporters the project will target women of childbearing age and children under five, while benefiting the wider population through improved health-seeking behaviour and stronger local health systems.
“Today’s meeting introduced the project, clarified roles and responsibilities and sought buy-in from stakeholders to ensure sustainability,” Mr. Nyahn said.
CHESS, founded in 2004 by his late Father, John Alexander Nyahn Sr. operates across Liberia’s 15 counties and has a small presence in Sierra Leone.
The intervention will support county reproductive and community health departments and data management to align community activities with Liberia’s National Community Health Policy and Plan (2022–2031/35).
Core messages include encouraging facility-based deliveries, antenatal care attendance and immunization uptake.
Planned activities include demand-generation for maternal health, emergency maternal awareness, data reconciliation, training, integrated supervision and support for community health structures such as Community Health Assistants (CHAs), traditional birth attendants/traditional midwives (TBAs/TTMs), Community Health Services Supervisors and Health Facility Development Committees (HFDCs).
The initiative will be implemented in Nimba and Montserrado Counties under the FHR360 Program alongside similar U.S.-Funded Projects in Grand Gedeh, Maryland, Sinoe and Grand Kru Counties.
Mr. Nyahn said the project aims to reduce maternal deaths by addressing barriers such as long distances to facilities — with many residents living more than five kilometers from care poor health-seeking behaviour and gaps in community facility coordination.
The project will support community-level actors to encourage pregnant women to follow the Ministry of Health’s recommended antenatal schedule of a minimum of four and up to eight visits.
County officials and traditional leaders attended the inception session and pledged support.
Mr. Nyahn urged local authorities and health teams to ensure clinics are equipped to receive referred patients.
“We ask the media to continue spotlighting maternal and child health and to support our outreach,” he stated.
He appealed to community members to ensure pregnant women attend antenatal visits, seek facility-based delivery, vaccinate their children and promptly refer women showing danger signs such as severe weakness, fainting or persistent vomiting to health facilities.
“No woman should die giving birth and no child should die before their first birthday,” CHESS said, calling on partners and Nimba residents to work together toward those goals.
The organization emphasized that the project is one of several CHESS initiatives supported by U.S. government funding to strengthen community health systems across Liberia.
At the ceremony, Nimba County Superintendent Kou Meapeah Gono, who was represented by the County Political Liaison Officer Prince Yeah, described the project as timely and urged stakeholders to take an active role.
He acknowledged contributions from the County Social Development Department (CSDD) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
CHESS – Liberia Executive Director John Alexander Nyahn Jr. said the project will improve coordination between community health actors and health facilities, enhance referral systems, and strengthen follow-up care for mothers and newborns.
The Nimba County Health Team and the traditional council welcomed the project and pledged to work with CHESS during the three-month initial implementation period.
