Monrovia– Dr. Maxo Luma, Executive Director of Partners in Health (PIH) Liberia, has assured Liberians that the organization, now marking a decade of operation in the country, remains committed to delivering quality healthcare, particularly in underserved areas like southeastern Liberia, despite significant challenges.

By: J.H. Webster Clayeh websterclayeh@frontpageafricaonline.com

Dr. Luma made this commitment during PIH’s 10-year anniversary celebration, where he reflected on the organization’s journey of serving hard-to-reach communities. “Over the past 10 years, we’ve encountered many obstacles—including impassable roads, supply shortages, and system shocks like COVID-19. Yet, our commitment to our patients and communities has only strengthened,” he said.

PIH was invited to Liberia at the peak of the Ebola crisis in 2014 by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Dr. Luma noted that Ebola’s devastation was not solely due to the virus but was compounded by an already fragile healthcare system. Following WHO’s declaration of Liberia as Ebola-free in 2016, PIH chose to stay and help the Liberian government rebuild and strengthen the healthcare system, especially in remote regions.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years,” Dr. Luma remarked. “We’re proud to reflect on this journey with the Government of Liberia, celebrate our achievements together, and look forward to the path ahead. This partnership has shown the power of patience and resilience.”

Supporting National Healthcare Initiatives

In 2017, PIH partnered with the Liberian government to develop the National Essential Package of Health Services, a vital step towards universal health coverage. The organization also worked with the National TB Program to update and fund the National TB Strategic Plan, introducing shorter, all-oral TB regimens and social support for improved patient outcomes.

The organization has also supported the Liberian Board of Nursing and Midwifery by revising the curriculum for community-based registered nurse midwives to enhance training standards. Additionally, PIH has contributed to developing the Mental Health Policy and renovated the doctor’s on-call room at the E.S. Grant Mental Health Hospital.

“We also supported the national community health program, ensuring that community health workers are trained, deployed, and compensated across Liberia,” said Dr. Luma.

Transforming Healthcare in Maryland County

In Maryland County, PIH has transformed Pleebo Health Center into a “health village,” complete with a new maternity ward, emergency room, lab, and pharmacy. “We achieved near-complete COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Maryland and earned a 3-star SLIPTA rating for the JJ Dossen Hospital lab,” he noted. The hospital has also become the only county facility in southeastern Liberia to offer fully functional core surgical services.

Dr. Luma added that PIH has worked with academic institutions like Harvard University, the University of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Mother Pattern College of Health Sciences, and Tubman University to build local healthcare capacity. “JJ Dossen is now accredited to host the family medicine program for five years, training a new generation of providers in person-centered care, social medicine, and social justice advocacy,” he said.

WHO Recognizes PIH’s Impact

Dr. Clement Lugala Peter, WHO’s representative in Liberia, praised PIH’s work over the past decade. “Your commitment to leaving no one behind is admirable, and I’ve witnessed the profound impact of your work in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals,” Dr. Peter said. He highlighted PIH’s role in demonstrating the importance of health as a human right and the interconnectedness brought to light by crises like Ebola and COVID-19.

Dr. Peter concluded, “Everyone, regardless of where they are, can contribute to the collective effort for survival. PIH embodies this principle in Liberia.”

Partner in Health (PIH) Liberia has completed the renovation of sanitary facilities at the National Tuberculosis Hospital in Oldest Congo Town, Monrovia. 

By Henry Karmo, henry.karmo@frontpageafriconline.com

PIH is a non-profit, social justice, and global health organization that is working along with the Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Health to strengthen the country’s health system. 

The six-week renovation project significantly improved basic water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, including the replacement of plumbing pipes, water and sewer lines, walltiles, commodes, and doors in 9 sanitary spaces, comprising 12 water closets, and 18 shower stalls at the TB Annex Hospital. 

At the official dedication ceremony, PIH-L’s HIV/TB Lead, Dr. John Paul Otuba said the project which cost US$ 21,439.85 was implemented under PIH’s space and stuff (SNS) non-negotiable grant. 

PIH believes that water, sanitation, and hygiene in healthcare facilities are preconditions for providing health care of good quality. At its supported facilities, access to stable and reliable electricity, adequate space, and uninterrupted water supply are not negotiable. 

Dr. Otuba said the need to have basic WASH services restored at the TB Annex was to address the sanitary challenges that the facility was faced with, particularly the patients who are considered as ‘Bosses’ by PIH. 

He pledged PIH’s commitment to continuously work with the hospital’s administration and the Ministry of Health to provide an enabling and healthy environment for patients and workers at the hospital.

“Providing treatment for patients requires good sanitary infrastructure, and what we saw here was a broken sanitary infrastructure and that was why we saw the need to intervene”, Mr. Otuba.

Also remarking at the occasion, Madam Viola Karanja, Deputy Executive Director of PIH-L asserted that in PIH’s approach, sanitation, and space are some of the non-negotiable essential items that must be at every healthcare facility.

“The patients are our bosses and they need to have access to dignified sanitary spaces at all times. We’re happy to accompany the Ministry of Health while working together to end TB in Liberia”, Madam Karanja said.

Mr. Arthur Bushman, who represented Mr. Rufus Saye, Director of the National Leprosy and TB Control Program thanked Partners in Health (PIH) for the level of support it continues to provide to the country’s health sector over the years. 

“You are doing it for TB, the Ministry of Health, and also for the people of Liberia. This project will be used for the intended purpose and, I assure you that we are prepared to change the narratives that public facilities are not taken care of”, said Mr. Bushman. 

According to the World Bank collection of development indicators, the incidence of tuberculosis (per 100,000 people) in Liberia was reported at 308 in 2021. However, MDR-TB treatment was not decentralized in Liberia until 2017 when PIH and the Maryland County Health Team opened the first decentralized MDR-TB treatment ward at the James Jenkins Memorial (JJD) Hospital in Harper, Maryland County.

Since the end of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in 2015, Partners In Health has been working with the Government to strengthen the country’s health infrastructure, tackling the systemic issues that contributed to the outbreak and its magnitude by laying the groundwork to make health care more dignified and accessible for those who need it the most.