Health in Liberia

Liberia faces widespread health problems, including Ebola, endemic malaria, malnutrition, widespread mental health problems and a low level of public health awareness.

Health infrastructure

See also: List of hospitals in Liberia

Liberia has 5,000 full-time or part-time health workers and 51 Liberian doctors to cater to a population of 3.8 million, according to the 2006 health survey. That is equivalent to about 76,000 civilians being attended to by 1 doctor. Most of the hospitals, clinics and equipment were destroyed due to its 14 years of civil conflict from 1989 all the way until 2003. The strengthening of the health sector faced financial problems. The government used only 16.8% of the total health expenditure in the country.

Liberia has heavily relied on the international community for health infrastructure and aid. International relief organizations assisted the government to rebuild health facilities and provide essential health care for its citizens. The World Health Organization (WHO) donated equipment and helped provide and assist in vaccinating the population to prevent the spreading of many communicable disease.

The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) funded 160 million US dollars to improve the health care system and increase the quality of immunization services in Liberia. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international medical humanitarian organization, helped Liberia by operating free hospitals right after the civil war (2003) and treated more than 20,000 women and children per year.

Health status

Ebola

The presence of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone as of 17 December 2014.

Main article: 2014 West Africa Ebola virus outbreak

As part of a wider regional Ebola outbreak in 2014, Liberia had suffered 1 779 deaths from Ebola as of September 22nd 2014. Ebola was first reported in Liberia in Lofa and Nimba counties in late March.

Mental health

A considerable amount of the population suffers from mental illnesses or were mentally or physically traumatized, due to 14 years of intense civil conflict. A study by the American Medical Association (AMA) in 2008 had showed that a staggering 40% of adults had shown symptoms of major depressive disorders. 44% of adults also had symptoms of PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder.

There was only one psychiatrist in the country at the time. It is impossible for 1 psychiatrist to be able to tend to over 1 million victims. In addition, E. S. Grant Mental Health Hospital was the only hospital for patients with mental illness. The hospital only had 80 beds, which left almost all those with traumatization unattended for.

HIV AIDS prevalence in Liberia

HIV AIDS is one of the biggest diseases that has affected and is affecting Liberia to date.

At any given time 33,000 people are living with HIV in Liberia of which nearly 60% are female. This is a terrible statistic as due to Liberia's incapability to treat this disease only about 1.2% of those affected survives from the devastating disease. The youth in Liberia is one of the biggest contributes to the extensive post-conflict HIV AIDS problem. This is due to risky unprotected sex among adolescents without any form of contraception. A new social marketing condom program is being introduced to adolescents in vulnerable areas of the country in order to stop the spread of the disease and to minimize many preventable deaths throughout the country. In a 2012 study conducted by the African Health Sciences organisation over 20,400 condoms were provided to males and 316 to females in over 87 sites throughout Liberia. Communities were informed how to provide awareness of the dangers of HIV AIDS and how easily it can be prevented through the method of safe sex. Through the help of a health organisation called PSI in 2012 alone, through the use of contraception provided to the Liberian people, 4.7 million unintended pregnancies were stopped,13600 maternal deaths and provided 19 million couples protection.

Malnutrition and Dire starvation

Liberia is on of the most poverty-stricken countries in the world. The national human development organisation has stated that 75% of Liberia's people live of less than a dollar a day. There are many shocking facts related to Liberia's horrific lack of nutrition, such as 40% of children have unnatural stunted growth and 7% of Liberia's population from highly acute malnutrition. This high level of starvation and malnutrition is linked to a major lack of food and the high level of early teenager mothers who have absolutely no idea how to look after or treat their babies. The teenage mothers are usually single, sadly sometimes due to rape. These unprivileged teenage mothers are too embarrassed to even breastfeed their babies the nutrients they need to survive. They feel completely robbed of their freedom. One of the most major contributors to a dire lack of food in Liberia is Ebola. Ebola is heavily attacking Liberia's food supply leaving 4.1 million people to try and survive the epidemic on their own accord, with many families or even kids on their own having to travel long distances to try access clean water or bags of wheat or flour for their families in order to even try survive. 85% of families in Liberia have been forced to eat fewer meals even as low as just one meal a day.

UNICEF and Non-Governmental Organizations, or NGOs, are working with the Ministry of Health to increase the awareness malnutrition, and make it a top priority of the country. Providing nutrition services is a major priority for the government, and it forms an important part of the National Health Policy. In 2008, the health ministry developed a nutrition policy, which became a good start from the service’s promise. With this new policy, the health ministry aims to reduce the 39% chronic malnutrition rate by one-third by 2011, and fix one of the greatest issues of Liberia.

Water and Sanitation

See also

• List of hospitals in Liberia
• Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Liberia

External links

• Doctors Without Borders press release