Liberia: Gbarpolu Women Trek Hours as Stalled Clinic Leaves Lives At Risk

PALAKWELLEH TOWN, Gbarpolu County — In the remote Guo Nwolailai District, women say they walk more than three hours to reach the only functioning clinic—an ordeal that has forced some pregnant mothers to give birth on the roadside or in the hands of untrained community members.

By Henry B. Gboluma, Jr., contributing writer

Now, they are pleading for urgent support to complete a self-initiated clinic project that has stalled for seven years, just steps away from serving more than 17,000 residents.

The unfinished facility, launched in 2017 by citizens of the district living in the Americas, stands zinc-roofed, plastered, and floored in Palakwelleh Town. But without iron doors, glass windows, a hand pump, placenta pit, wiring, and a water system, it cannot meet national health standards or open.

“We walk five, six hours to get to the only clinic,” said Yankai Kellenu, Chairlady of Palakwelleh Town. “Sometimes pregnant women deliver on the way. Some even give birth in communities with no trained help. Since the war, we have been waiting for a clinic—but up to now, nothing.”

District Chairlady Kpannah Harris described the area as one of the hardest to access in Liberia, with no motorable roads and communities surrounded by water.

“We only move on foot, by motorcycle, or canoe,” she said. “We want to be part of Liberia. Let the government connect us with roads to reduce our suffering.”

When serious cases arise, residents must be carried in hammocks to the St. Paul River, ferried by canoe, and then transported by vehicle to Phebe Hospital in Bong County—a journey that can prove fatal.

“Last year, my son was sick. On the way to the clinic, he died,” Harris recounted.

Liberia’s health policy requires that every citizen live within a one-hour walk or five kilometers of a functioning clinic. In Guo Nwolailai, that standard remains far from reality.

Determined to close the gap, residents launched the Palakwelleh clinic project—but funding ran dry.

Noah M. Sapiah, chairman of the project committee, said construction halted after initial progress.

“The people in America started it to help us, but the money finished,” he explained. “The building is up, but doors, ceiling, and finishing work remain. We need support to complete it.”

District Commissioner Milton Gartee noted that Palakwelleh once hosted the district’s only clinic from the 1960s until it was destroyed during Liberia’s civil crisis.

“Since then, we have relied on just one clinic in Kpayeakwelleh,” he said. “This town serves over 20,000 people. Completing this project is critical.”

Efforts to raise funds locally have yielded little. A recent “dollar rally” generated only L$15,000—an amount Gartee described as “a drop in a pit.”

He said plans are underway to present a full cost estimate to the Gbarpolu County Council, the county’s top development decision-making body, for possible intervention.

The proposed clinic includes a pharmacy, dispensary, waiting area, seven rooms, and three bathrooms. Once completed, it would significantly ease pressure on the district’s lone health facility and provide lifesaving care closer to home.

For now, however, the structure remains locked and overgrown—its promise unrealized.

And for the women of Guo Nwolailai, every mile walked is a reminder that help is still out of reach.