Nimba County – Several government run hospitals and clinics in Nimba County are without essential drugs and other medical supplies.
The officer in charge (OIC) at Graie health center on the Saclepea-Tappita highway said since November 2017 there has no drugs supply.
The clinic caters to a catchment community of over 8,600 people.
Mary Tomah said they are constrained to reject patients due to the lack of drugs and ambulance.
She said defeated presidential candidate Benoni Urey donated an ambulance to the clinic but it is not being use because of the lack of fuel and salary for the driver.
In the past the clinic used to treat over 80 patients but with delay in supplies, but due to the lack of drugs, we now cater to less than 80 people a day, Tomah said.
She also added that the lack of ambulance is a setback for the clinic’s response to the increase in teenage pregnancy in the area.
Seven out of every 10 pregnant women are teenagers, she said. Most of them are between the ages of 13 and 17.
Tomah said most of young girls in the district have rejected the use of family planning despite rigorous awareness about its significance.
W.W Harley Hospital, the main government run referral health facility in the county also lacks of drugs.
There have been calls to recruit more health practitioners and employ another medical doctor. Currently, there’s only a doctor serving the hospital.
Patients are often asked to buy drugs before they are treatment.
Dr. Collins Saah Bowah, Nimba County health officer, confirmed that the lack of drugs at the only government hospital is a frequent challenge that impedes health care delivery in the county.
Report by Franklin Doloquee, FPA Contributor