TUBMANBURG – Bomi County Superintendent Adama Robertson has decried the appalling and deteriorating state of the health system in the county he described as the most “hard to live region” in Liberia.
According to him, some citizens residing in the county continue to die one after the other as a result of the lack of medicines at the only referral public health facility in Bomi.
He made specific reference to the lack of paracetamol, which is used to treat common illnesses, including headache, malaria, among others.
He made these comments recently at a program marking the presentation of medical supplies and equipment worth over US$196,000 by the Messages De Vie Ministry of Bishop Mohammed Sanogo to the Government of Liberia (GOL), through the Ministry of Health.
The medical supplies and equipment were provided to be exclusively used at the public health facility in Bomi. The ministry also carried out free surgical operations and rehabilitation works at the facility.
Superintendent Robertson’s comments were made in the presence of Liberia’s Health Minister Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah and other government officials, including Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe, newly inducted Senjeh district Representative Alice Finda Lasannah, among others.
Hard to live area
Though former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives Alex Tyler hailed from Bomi, citizens and residents of the county continue to suffer from the lack of basic social services.
Bad road conditions, lack of access to public electricity, pipe borne water, sanitation, adequate health care delivery, among others remain some of the constraints confronting citizens and residents of the county.
Despite being in a modern era, some citizens of Bomi still use the bushes to defecate due to the lack of public latrines, while others fetch water from nearby creek and river for cooking and drinking purposes in the county which once served as a hub for the mining of iron ores prior to the Liberian civil conflict.
Ore mines in Bomi were previously operated by the erstwhile Liberian Mining Company (LMC); which is a subsidiary of Republic Steel Corporation.
The company was the first in Liberia to export iron ore, after it completed a 43-mile (69-km) narrow-gauge railway to the Freeport of Monrovia in 1951. It shut down mining operations in the late 1970s.
Superintendent Robertson described Bomi as a “hard to live region” in the nation.
He disclosed that despite the close proximity of Bomi to the Liberian capital-Monrovia, confronting odds in the area remains challenging for most of the locals.
The county is located in western Liberia and it is about 51kilometers from Monrovia.
“We are short of words. Man of God (Sanogo). Truly God has directed you here, through the Minister of Health and our Honorable Senator (Edwin Melvin Snowe) and our two doctors here. This place is a hard to live region of the Republic of Liberia. There are times people are sick here and even to get the paraceltamol that is the cheapest is very difficult and so, people die in this county because they cannot afford”.
He recalled that he was constrained to shoulder the medical bills of LD1,500 (less than US$11) for one of his citizens, who cried and begged him on the telephone to help save the life of her ailing daughter.
He added that he exhibited a high degree of compassion and sent the amount via mobile money to the unidentified person.
“That particular case is just one among the many cases. This is how desperate Bomi is and so, it is the miracle of God that has brought you here. Words are inadequate to appreciate you. Had it not been God, it was not going to happen. The hand that gave is more blessed”.
Superintendent Robertson admitted that medical practitioners assigned in the county have been consistently expressing concerns over the lack of medicines and adequate medical equipment to enhance their operations.
He used the occasion to commend Bomi County Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe for his persistent and unwavering commitment and willingness to help buttress the efforts of national government towards improving the health system in the county..
He maintained that citizens of the county did not make any mistake to ensure the overwhelming victory of Senator Snowe during the electioneering period in 2020.
For her part, the County Health Officer (CHO) of Bomi County, Dr. Cianeh Jackson recounted challenges confronting adequate healthcare delivery in the county.
She named the inability of healthcare workers to provide “quality services” to citizens of Bomi and other nearby counties remains one of the greatest challenges strangulating the improvement of the health system in the western region.
“When I took over this county health system, it was so challenging. The challenges were so many that I didn’t even know what to do. I reached out to the County Legislative Caucus, through Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe and decided to work with them along with the county authorities. We started receiving donations from the Senator, eminent citizens of Bomi and we were able to move from where we were to where we are today”.
She noted that though professional doctors of specialties, nurses and others are assigned at the government hospital in Bomi, the availability of required medical equipment remains remains far from being actualized.
This, Madam Jackson added, makes it difficult for health care workers assigned in the county to carry out their assigned task and responsibilities in an effective and efficient manner, noting that, “it’s almost like when you put a footballer on the field and there is no football and jersey. That’s how we are looking”.
Referring patients
Madam Jackson pointed out that as a result of these challenges, health authorities assigned at the public health facility in Bomi are most often constrained to transfer or refer patients with complicated cases to other medical facilities outside of the county.
She termed the gesture from Bishop Sanogo as a great initiative that will be remembered in the history of the health system in Bomi.
She further described Senator Snowe as a “man who is always there for us”, noting that, the Bomi County lawmaker has been very instrumental in helping to ensure the provision of quality healthcare delivery to citizens of the county and other areas.
Madam Jackson, however, used the occasion to laud Minister Jallah for her preferment as CHO of Bomi.