Liberia

Though Liberia has made significant moves towards stability and reconstruction following its 14-year civil war, many people still live in poverty and the weak health sector often struggles to provide adequate healthcare. Women and children are particularly at risk.

 

Maternal and paediatric healthcare

 

In 2009, MSF provided free healthcare in two hospitals and two health centres in Montserrado County in the northwest, which is home to more than 30 per cent of the country’s population.

 

In a suburb of Paynesville, MSF worked in a 106-bed women and children’s hospital offering neonatal intensive care and maternal emergency services for women, including surgery. Throughout the year, teams assisted nearly 7,000 patients, including more than 1,100 deliveries and 2,600 emergency surgeries.

 

MSF also provided free access to healthcare in a 187-bed private paediatric hospital in Bushrod Island, an overcrowded area of Monrovia that is home to more than 500,000 people. More than 12,400 children were admitted in 2009. Teams focused primarily on maternal health, malnourished children with medical complications and integrating the treatment of chronic diseases such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

 

MSF also supported two health centres in collaboration with the Ministry of Health in Clara Town and New Kru Town, in the capital. Teams provided a range of services such as antenatal and postnatal care, vaccinations and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Together, the centres carried out more than 112,000 consultations, and delivered 2,200 babies.

 

Handover

 

In 2007, MSF started a gradual handover of projects to the Ministry of Health and other partners. In 2009, with the country firmly in a post-conflict reconstruction phase, MSF continued to handover activities, including in Nimba County, northeastern Liberia in April, followed by activities in Clara Town health centre in August.  MSF also scaled down activities in its two hospitals in Monrovia.

 

Before the handover of Saclepea in Nimba County, MSF successfully finalised a research project in collaboration with other partners for testing the anti-malarial drug known as artemisinin-based combination therapy.

 

Sexual violence

 

Sexual violence remains common in Liberia. MSF offered emergency medical and psychological support to survivors of sexual violence at Island hospital in Monrovia and at two health centres, treating an average of 70 patients a month in 2009. More than three-quarters were younger than 18 years old.

 

In the last months of 2009, MSF ran an awareness campaign in Monrovia, using radio advertisements, interviews, posters, banners, text messages and drama groups to urge more survivors of sexual violence to seek vital medical and psychological treatment, particularly in the first three days after an attack.

 

Free medical care for all

 

MSF continued to lobby for free care throughout Liberia. Though the government introduced a free treatment policy in 2006, and reconfirmed its willingness in 2009 to provide free healthcare to its people, considerable political will and resources from the international community are still needed to ensure these promises become a reality.