Monrovia – It was a moment of celebration and commendation during the official ceremony marking the end of the USAID STAIP program in Liberia.
STAIP, which is the acronym for Strategic Technical Assistance for Improved Health Systems Performance and Health Outcomes is a four-year program sponsored by USAID and implemented by Jhpiego.
At the closeout event, the Chief of Party of Jhpiego, Dr. Birhanu S. Getahunsaid said STAIP is US$27 million project with the overall objective to support the Ministry of Health (MOH) to plan, finance and implement solutions aligned with the Government of Liberia’s (GoL) development priorities for health.
Through the course of the project, he said STAIP supported the strengthening of the MOH’s systems in order to improve patient outcomes at primary health care facilities by providing sustainable capacity building and incentivizing better health systems performance through performance-based financing. STAIP also supported interventions leading to improved financial management and accountability for delivery of quality maternal and child health, family planning, and malaria services in primary level public health facilities. He said this project builds on Jhpiego’s recent work in Liberia through three Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP) projects, the JSI-led USAID Rebuilding Basic Health Services (RBHS) project, and MSH-led USAID Collaborative Support for Health project (CSH). STAIP was implemented in 12 counties.
He thanked the U.S. government for the generous funding, the ministry of Health for the collaboration and STAIP consultant members and team for the hard work and sacrifice they put in to make the project a success.
STAIP’s Achievements
During the course of the project, Dr. Getahunsaid said STAIP, in collaboration with County Health Teams, provided interventions focused on sustainable capacity building, improved financial management, and increased accountability.
These interventions improved the delivery of maternal and child health, family planning and malaria services in over 300 public health facilities across 12 counties, adding that STAIP’S successful implementation has resulted in many lessons learned and best practices shared.
He said compliance with financial management standards in 8 counties improved by 21 percent from 70 percent in the first year of STAP to 91 percent in year four. STAIP also made important gains in the area of training. We trained close to 4,000 health workers in the critical areas of care, including: malaria case management, emergency obstetrics and newborn care, family planning, and maternity care. These efforts led to the enhanced quality of services delivered at over 300 health facilities.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, STAIP provided critical support to the COVID-19 response in Liberia.
In addition, USAID, through STAIP, conducted COVID-19 detection, prevention, and response training for over 3,000 healthcare providers and 331 contact tracers. STAIP also distributed infection prevention and control materials, provided fuel for continuous vaccine cold-chain management, and conducted county level COVID-19 emergency response meetings across 11 counties.
As a result, Bong county was one of the first counties to achieve a 70 percent COVID-19 vaccination coverage target in Liberia in 2022. All of this has been made possible because of the great collaboration with County Health Teams. They played a key role in coordinating STAIP’S efforts with other USAID supported activities, and with Liberian government activities.
Speaking at the event, Rory Donohoe, USAID/Liberia Deputy Mission Director, said STAIP is an example of the critical support that USAID provides to improve health outcomes for all Liberians. The USAID designed the STAIP activity with an overarching objective of supporting the Ministry of Health to enhance the delivery of primary healthcare services.
“We greatly appreciate the Ministry of Health’s leadership and long-standing partnership with USAID to strengthen health systems for quality health services,” Donohoe said.
“He said while we celebrate these successes, we are also aware that these interventions did not completely address all of Liberia’s health systems strengthening needs required in order to achieve universal health coverage. There is more work to be done. It is our hope that the gains that we have made under STAIP to support the Ministry of Health will be sustained and the effective strategies employed will be adapted and scaled for greater national health impact.”
The event, held at a local hotel was attended by major stakeholders of the health sector and Liberian Government partners.
Health Minister Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah, making a brief stop at the event thanked the United States Government through USAID and Jhpiego for the successful implementation of the project. A.Vaifee Tulay lauded the STAIP project for its several practical interventions that have boosted the performances in the health sector.
Commenting on the Margibi County incident where some officials of the county’s health team were accused of corruption, he said the Ministry of Health has received the audit report and recommended the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission to take the appropriate actions by prosecuting those accused.
The County Health officer from the implementing counties thanked USAID for the immense support they received through the STAIP project.
Dr. Cecelia Woods Cheneyon, the CHO of Grand Cape Mount said STAIP made several interventions, among them the construction of six incinerators, renovated 11 and constructed one placenta pit. She called for the sustainability of these meaningful interventions. Dr J. Woyee Wreh, CHO of Grand Kru County said STAIP project was a household name in Grand Kru, and its departure will be a big blow to the health team and the communities.
Some of the major interventions include the provision of a critical impetus for newborn survival through the creation of modern neonatal intensive care units at key regional referral hospitals including the Jackson F. Doe in Tappita, Nimba County, C.B. Dunbar in Bong and the C.H. Rennie in Margibi County. STAIP also supported the national malarial control program and 12 counties health teams to support improve malaria outcomes by providing sustainable capacity building for health workers.
