Arthington — It was moments of joy and relief for health practitioners, including administrators, supervisors, and nurses in rural Montserrado when World Hope International (WHI) in collaboration with its partners including the Korle-Bu Neuroscience Foundation (KBNF) and the Ministry of Health through the Montserrado County Health Team donated assorted medical items.
A total of Nine Health facilities in the St. Paul River District benefited from the donation with a total catchment population of over 108,721 patients per annual.
The donation was in continuation of WHI and KBNF's joint effort with the County Health Team of Montserrado County to strengthen the healthcare delivery system.
On the first day, the team, led by World Hope International's Country Director, Mathew Ndote presented the items to the Gbondoi and Bromley clinics in Virginia.
Some of the materials donated include syringes and needles, protective gears, BP cuffs, IV tubes, Ambu bags, and dressing sets, among others.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the day-one distribution, Mr. Ndote stated that WHI has been heavily involved with the provision of water, sanitation, and hygiene in underprivileged communities and dealing with anti-human trafficking.
However, through this partnership with KBNF, and in collaboration with Ministry of Health via the County Health team of Montserrado, it is providing highly needed assorted medical items- mainly including IPC materials and drugs to the facilities to ensure the safety of their staff as they handle patients; something he noted has been lacking.
He praised KBNF as the main donor for providing these needed supplies including shipment handling and warehousing services while WHI provided the required logistics to deliver the items while the CHT coordinated the activity, provided its staff and needed manpower to support the delivery to the targeted facilities.
He noted that although Global Health is a key pillar at WHI across the globe, this year, 2022 was the first time WHI Liberia started its work in the health sector. He thanked MoH for the cooperation and for providing the necessary donation support and enabling the environment to contribute to the health sector in Liberia.
"Our main concern is the women and children who have challenges in getting to health facilities outside their villages and towns," he said.
"So, bringing the services closer to the people, and bringing the health supplies that the health workers who need it the most can unlock the barriers to accessing health care in rural areas we do believe that this is going to help a lot in saving lives."
On separate occasions, the clinics' administrators thanked WHI and KBNF for the items and pledged to use them for the intended purpose.
"We are blessed today for the items you - WHI and KBNF brought for us. We are so overwhelmed, and we want to say a big thank you for thinking about Gbondoi Health Center at the time we are most in need of you," Marion C. Bropleh, the Officer-In-Charge of the Gbondoi Clinic extolled.
Mr. Augusta K. Musa, the OIC of Bromley said: "We are so thankful to you for bringing us the IPC materials and essential drugs. We pray that you come again and continue to be our partners."
Also speaking, Mr. Ben D. Wilson, the Clinical Supervisor of St. Paul River District, speaking on behalf of the CHO, lauded the joint effort of WHI and KBNF and stated the materials will fill in some of the major gaps at these facilities. He disclosed that the nine government health centers in the district serve thousands of residents of that part of Montserrado.
Meanwhile, the distribution exercise ended at the Arthington Community Clinic. The joint delegation comprised officials of WHI, KBNF, and the MoH including Tori Victoria Chan, the WHIs Director of Global Health often based in Sierra Leone, Helen Charles, Operations Manager, KBNF, and Fania Kamara, WHI's Health Coordinator.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
In brief remarks, Ms. Chan said she was glad to be in Liberia to form part of the handover exercise. She lauded the collaboration between KBFN and WHI and expressed hope that the materials will make a meaningful impact.
The Operations Manager at KBNF, Hellen Charles expressed her delight in being part of the delivery team and promised the clinics of KBNF's continued collaboration with WHI and MoH to address some of the challenges facing the health facilities in rural areas and underprivileged communities.
World Hope International is a Christian relief and development organization working with vulnerable and exploited communities to alleviate poverty, suffering, and injustice all over the world.
Korlu-Bu Neuroscience Foundation is a Canadian charity enhancing the delivery of quality brain and spinal medical care in West Africa and beyond. KBNF's vision is to alleviate the suffering of West Africans with a special focus on those affected by diseases of the brain and spine and to address related health care issues.
