Partners In Health Liberia (PIH) marked a significant milestone on October 25, 2024, celebrating its 10th year anniversaries at the Mamba Point Hotel in Monrovia. The event brought together health professionals, community stakeholders, and partners to reflect on a decade of impactful healthcare initiatives in Liberia.
Since its establishment, PIH has been dedicated to providing high-quality healthcare services, improving health systems, training healthcare workers, and offering vital support to underserved communities. The organization has been instrumental in addressing critical healthcare challenges, especially during the Ebola outbreak and the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The anniversary celebration featured inspiring speeches from key stakeholders, including representatives from the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Liberia Board of Nursing and Midwifery, and various international partners.
Dr. Maxo Luma, Executive Director of Partners in Health Liberia, shared his reflections on the organization’s journey: “PIH arrived in Liberia at the height of the Ebola virus outbreak in 2014, at the invitation of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. During this period, we recognized that the tragic deaths caused by Ebola were symptomatic of a broader issue: a fragile healthcare system grappling with significant challenges.”
Dr. Luma emphasized that when WHO declared Liberia Ebola-free in 2016, PIH was committed to partnering with the Government of Liberia to rebuild, strengthen, and stabilize the healthcare system, particularly in the most remote and underserved regions of southeastern Liberia. “It’s hard to believe that a decade has passed since we embarked on this journey. We gather today with pride to celebrate our collective achievements and the path forward.” He added.
Over the past ten years, PIH have navigated numerous obstacles, including impassable roads, commodity shortages, and system shocks like COVID-19. Yet, these challenges have not deterred PIH or weakened its commitment to serving their patients and the broader community.
Dr. Luma noted that the partnership has fostered transformation, showcasing what is possible with patience and resilience. For example, “since 2017, we have collaborated with the government to develop the National Essential Package of Health Services—a crucial step toward achieving universal health coverage.” He stated. “We have also supported the National Tuberculosis Program by revising and costing the National TB Strategic Plan, introducing shorter all-oral TB regimens, and providing social support to improve care and outcomes for patients.”
According to him, PIH has transformed the Pleebo Health Center in Maryland County into a comprehensive facility, adding a new maternity ward, emergency room, laboratory, pharmacy, and more, and have also achieved near-complete COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the county receiving a 3-star SLIPTA rating for the JJ Dossen Hospital laboratory. Additionally, PIH sustained essential community-to-facility linkages through the support of community health workers.
He highlighted that PIH efforts have strengthened oxygen distribution in the southeast, allowing us to provide life-saving surgical care to hundreds of patients. In fact, JJ Dossen Hospital is now the only county hospital in the southeastern region with all four core services fully operational.
Through these accomplishments, PIH has built the capacity of local nurses, midwives, technicians, and doctors, partnering with esteemed academic institutions such as Harvard University, the University of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Mother Pattern College of Health Sciences, and Tubman University. For five years, JJ Dossen has been accredited to host the Family Medicine Program, training the next generation of healthcare providers in person-centered care, social medicine, and social justice advocacy.
As the organization reflects on these successes, it reaffirms its commitment to the belief that healthcare is a basic human right. As PIH’s late founder, Dr. Paul Farmer, eloquently stated, “with rare exceptions, all of your most important achievements on this planet will come from working with others or, in a word, ‘partnership’. The strong partnerships forged by PIH have been both an antidote to despair and a catalyst for strengthening Liberia’s healthcare system.”
While celebrating its achievements over the past ten years, PIH recognizes that its journey is a marathon, not a sprint. “There is much work ahead, and I firmly believe that with sustained collaboration, we can continue to make progress,” Dr. Luma asserted. “This 10-year milestone would not have been possible without the visionary leadership of the Government of Liberia, the authorities in Maryland County, the Ministry of Health, and the invaluable partnerships with everyone present today, especially the community.”
Using the momentum from reflections over the past decade, PIH is determined to move forward, united and stronger. Dr. Luma also took this opportunity to express his gratitude to the PIH Liberia team for their unwavering dedication and for making the event a reality.
In conclusion, Dr. Luma reminded attendees of PIH’s ongoing commitment to mental health, highlighting their support in developing a national mental health policy and renovating the doctor’s call room at E.S. Grant Mental Health Hospital. They have also aided in the costing of the national community health program, ensuring the deployment, professionalization, and compensation of community health workers across Liberia.
Dr. Clement Lugala Peter, the World Health Organization Representative for Liberia, in a special remark stated that Partners in Health arrived in Liberia at a time when the country needed them most. “It was a time when Liberia required friends and partnerships. You came at just the right moment, especially when the southeast was considered a remote area; that narrative has persisted,” he stated.
“You have come at a time to embody the principle of leaving no one behind. I have witnessed the impact of your work in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals,” he added.
“Truly, health is a human right, but it is also about people and prosperity. While Ebola presented a sub-regional challenge, COVID-19 emerged as a global crisis. It clearly demonstrated our interconnectedness and underscored that everyone, regardless of where they are, can contribute to the collective effort for survival.”
