Arthington — Residents of Quize's Town and 36 other communities in Arthington Back Bush, District 17 rural Montserrado, received a major health boost as Refuge Place International (RPI) dedicated its new Arthington Clinic. The facility, located more than 2.5 kilometers from the nearest government hospital, is expected to serve an estimated 37 communities where access to maternal and child health services has long been a matter of life and death.
A Clinic Born from Tragedy
The project began in 2017 after a young woman died in childbirth while being transported to a hospital. "We decided to construct this clinic after a young lady died during childbirth because the nearest clinic required a 2.5 km walk to the main road before finding a vehicle for a journey that then took an hour. When they arrived at the hospital, she had already died," said Franzetta F. Yanford, Chief of Staff at Refuge Place International Liberia, during the dedication ceremony.
RPI worked with women, men, and youth of Arthington to complete the sixth clinic under its community co-investment model. The site now includes a clinic, a hand pump, and plans for a staff quarter and maternal waiting home.
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Government Pledges Partnership
Representing the Ministry of Health, Dr. G. Gobee Logan acknowledged the long-standing barriers to healthcare in rural Liberia and urged residents to take ownership of the new facility. "You people really deserve this. For me to be here, it was not an easy task. So, that tells me the kind of difficulty you are going through just to access healthcare," Dr. Logan said. He cited national data showing that 49 percent of rural residents lack access to healthcare. The Ministry, he said, is collaborating with partners like RPI to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality. "Take ownership, not just by coming to look at it, but by making sure your voices are heard and that the facility is properly maintained," he told the crowd.
Community-Driven Model Gets Praise
Dr. Adams Lincoln, Technical Advisor for RPI, stressed that the clinic's success depends on both community commitment and retaining health workers in rural areas. "People have to walk long distances, and sometimes, in the process, people die prematurely. I would like to encourage the community to hold their health workers close so they have no reason to leave," he said. RPI
Founder and CEO Dr. Mosoka Fallah, who also serves as Acting Director of the Science and Innovation Directorate at Africa CDC, credited the community for providing materials used during construction. "Every single plank you see here came from the forest of the Arthington Back Bush," he said, tracing his passion for humanity back to from his educational journey that required sacrifices to ensure lives are saved, especially after seeing women giving birth on their own due to the lack of access to health facilities.
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Relief for Women on the Frontlines
For local women, the clinic ends decades of dangerous journeys to access healthcare. Memah Moore, chairlady of the area, said pregnant women were previously carried in hammocks for nearly four hours to reach medical attention. "From here to Arthington is about a four-hour walk. We mostly carry our patients in hammocks, especially pregnant women. They sometimes give birth on the road during the journey," she said. Traditional midwife Bandu Kamara described the facility as "a rescue" for the community. "It hasn't been easy. We have been traveling long distances, sometimes in darkness. The situation became so severe that they often had to refer us to Redemption Hospital," she said.
Refuge Place International, founded in 2009 by Dr. Mosoka Fallah, runs a replicable model for maternal, newborn, and child healthcare in underserved communities. Since opening its first clinic in 2014 during the Ebola outbreak, RPI has provided care to more than 600,000 patients, with zero home deliveries and zero maternal deaths recorded within its catchment areas. The Arthington Clinic marks RPI's 6th facility in Liberia, with operations also active in Montserrado, Bong, Bomi, and Lofa counties.
