WHAT BEGAN as a symbol of hope has deteriorated into a corridor of fear for kidney patients in Liberia. The Dialysis Unit at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center (JFK), once celebrated as a milestone in the nation’s public healthcare development, is now viewed by its own patients as a “death trap.”
THIS HARROWING term is no exaggeration — it reflects the painful and increasingly fatal experiences of Liberians who depend on the facility to survive.
TODAY, malfunctioning dialysis machines, a chronic lack of essential medical supplies, and soaring treatment costs have rendered the unit ineffective, unsafe, and inaccessible for many who need it most. At its core, this is not just a crisis at one hospital — it is a moral and medical failure at the national level.
WHEN THE dialysis unit was first launched during the administration of former President George Weah, it was heralded as a revolutionary achievement for healthcare in Liberia. For years, dialysis was out of reach for the average Liberian.
ONLY THE WEALTHY could afford to travel abroad for treatment, and the opening of a public unit offered a rare moment of progress. Families rejoiced. Patients clung to renewed hope. But that hope has since been eclipsed by despair.
THE UNIT, despite its noble promise, is now plagued by dysfunction. Patients arrive unsure whether they will receive treatment on any given day. Some return home untreated because the machines are broken.
OTHERS ARE told supplies have run out— again. The environment is not one of healing, but of waiting, pleading, and watching one’s condition deteriorate.
PATIENTS LIKE 35-year-old Bob Moore, who must undergo dialysis three times a week, spend over $250 weekly on treatment and medication. Yet Moore is regularly denied access to care, even after payment. “We are dying slowly,” he said, a chilling indictment of a system that demands money yet delivers no certainty.
ANOTHER patient, 27-year-old Promise Kollie, described going an entire week without dialysis because the center was simply not operational. She waited outside for hours — sometimes overnight — hoping for materials to arrive. “We’re not just patients,” she said. “We’re young people with dreams, families, and futures. But the system is failing us.” Her words cut deep because they capture more than personal anguish; they reflect the collapse of a healthcare promise.
A PARTICULARLY alarming aspect of this failure is the absence of reagents — basic chemical agents required to ensure the safety and effectiveness of dialysis treatment. Without reagents, clinicians are unable to properly monitor the dialysis solution or the patient’s blood chemistry.
This is not just a supply gap — it is a potentially fatal breach of medical standards. How can a hospital perform dialysis without the tools to ensure it is safe? The fact that the hospital’s own Head of Public Affairs admitted the absence of reagents — and could not confirm how the unit is functioning without them — is both damning and disturbing.
WHAT’S HAPPENING at JFK is symptomatic of deeper, systemic issues. Liberia’s public health system remains fragile, under-resourced, and often overwhelmed. Hospitals suffer from chronic underfunding, outdated infrastructure, and bureaucratic delays that hinder procurement.
AND YET, the failure at JFK is especially troubling because this was no ordinary facility. It was a flagship service, introduced with political and media attention as a sign that the country was moving forward. Its decay now signals something far worse that even our brightest hopes are not immune to mismanagement and neglect.
THIS CRISIS demands more than a statement — it demands action. First, there must be an immediate emergency response to restock the dialysis unit with essential supplies, particularly reagents, fluids, filters, and working dialysis machines.
SECOND, the Ministry of Health must launch an independent audit into how the dialysis unit has been managed, including the handling of patient payments and procurement. Patients paying hundreds of dollars each week deserve transparency on where that money is going.
THIRD, the government must offer direct financial support to dialysis patients who cannot afford this care. It is unconscionable that citizens must go broke—or die—just to receive a treatment that should be a protected public service.
LASTLY, Liberia must establish a long-term national policy for renal healthcare, expanding access beyond JFK and building sustainable partnerships with private and international stakeholders.
THE SILENCE from the country’s political and healthcare leadership is unacceptable. The JFK administration has yet to offer a clear explanation or recovery plan.
THE MINISTRY of Health has not communicated a way forward. And elected officials have largely remained detached from the cries of patients sleeping in plastic chairs outside the dialysis ward.
THIS cannot continue.
HEALTHCARE IS not a privilege for the few; it is a basic right for all. The right to treatment, the right to safety, and the right to dignity must not be denied to those whose only mistake was falling ill in a broken system.
IF JFK’s dialysis center fails completely — and it is dangerously close — it will not be because treatment is impossible, or because funding is unavailable. It will be because those with the power to intervene chose silence over service.
THE COLLAPSE will not be just a reflection of a faulty machine or an empty storeroom; it will reflect a country that has forgotten its obligation to protect life.
WHAT IS happening at JFK is not only a public health emergency — it is a national reckoning. The government must now decide whether the country’s public healthcare system is a safety net for the people, or a trap door that opens when they are most vulnerable.
FOR PATIENTS like Bob Moore and Promise Kollie, every day without a functioning dialysis unit is a gamble with death. How many more lives must be lost before that reality forces action?
THE time for waiting is over. The time for urgent, decisive leadership is now.
