Executive Mansion, Monrovia

The World Health Organization praised Liberian progress on MDGs relating to public health, in a document published for its 63rd World Health Assembly in Geneva this week.

The WHO report notes the strides made by developing countries on Goals 4(child mortality), 5 (maternal health) and 6 (malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis). Under the heading “Learning from Success,” it singles Liberia out as a model of achievement on Goal 4, having seen a reduction of over 20% in child mortality in recent years.

According to the report, “there are signs of faster progress in … Liberia, where child mortality fell by 20% or more between 2000 and 2007.”

The gathering of health Ministers and experts from around the world invited President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to deliver its keynote address on Tuesday.

The President made the journey to Geneva from the United States, where she is meeting U.S. Government officials, business executives and other partners to strengthen diplomatic ties with the United States and promote investment and trade links.

In her speech, the President set out the progress made by the country on health care, but renewed pressure on international donors to maintain their support in order to make permanent free healthcare for Liberians.

She said: “I believe that people should not have to die, simply because they are poor. I believe that people should not have to die because treatments common in the rest of the world are not available where they live. I believe that a child should not have to die because a parent has had to make the impossible choice between feeding her family, or taking her sick child to the clinic that could have saved her life.”

Expanding Health Services

The civil war had a devastating effect on health services. In 1989, Liberia had 800 practicing doctors. By 2003, it had 50. In her speech, the President set out the steps taken to repair the damage. The Government has:

• Established a “Basic Package of Health Services” in over 80% of the nation’s health facilities, ahead of the target date, giving priority to the interventions that will have the greatest benefit to our nation’s health;

• More than quadrupled the number of facilities offering comprehensive and emergency neo-natal care;

• Tripled the distribution of free insecticide-treated bed nets which has helped malaria prevalence fall by half in the four years to 2009;

• Already completed or started construction and renovation of over 30 clinics, midwifery schools and health training centers; and

• Improved referral services and access to medicines.

Evidence from the Government’s health surveys suggests that Liberia’s child mortality rate may have fallen by half, more than the WHO estimate. According to Liberia’s Demographic and Health Survey, mortality of children under five dropped from 219 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1992 to 1996 to 110 deaths per 1,000 live births between 2002 to 2006.

Challenges Ahead

The President also described the serious health challenges facing Liberia, in particular in the area of maternal health: “Nearly one in 1,000 women is dying even as they bring new life into the world – a sharp increase from previous years. This is a shocking statistic, and one reason why I launched the Women’s Health Commission for the African Region last month.”
President Sirleaf repeated her pledge that the ‘Reach Every Pregnant Woman’ strategy will seek to ensure that every pregnant woman gets medical attention during pregnancy and delivers her baby at a health facility.

Permanent access to free healthcare

The President renewed her long-term commitment to making the Government’s temporary suspension of user-fees permanent and to providing free healthcare for all Liberians. She called on international donors to renew the support on which this goal depends, building on the US$5 billion of investment by the Task Force for Innovative International Funding for Health Systems.

In another development, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is in the United States to participate in several events and consultations with U.S. Government officials, business executives and other partners. The President is away from Liberia through June 2nd.

While in the United States, the Liberian leader will hold discussions with key Congressional leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman, and leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus.

An Executive Mansion release states that the President will also meet with executives of Lockheed Martin Corporation to review plans regarding Delta Airlines’ trans-Atlantic flights to Liberia. American billionaire Bob Johnson, a key supporter of the initiative, will take part in those discussions.

The President is also expected to hold talks with executives of the Chevron Corporation on the prospects for oil exploration in Liberia.

During the Liberian President’s trip , she will also undergo her routine annual medical check-up, and participate in events of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, an independent U.S. foreign aid agency that is helping to lead the fight against global poverty

In the academic arena, the President will receive honorary degrees from Rutgers University  in New Jersey, and Yale University  in Connecticut. She will also deliver the Commencement Address at Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C.

Outside of the United States, the President will keep a long-standing commitment to deliver the keynote address at the annual World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 18.

Before returning to Liberia, President Sirleaf will participate in the Africa-France Summit, taking place in Nice, France, from May 31 to June 1. The forum will provide the President the opportunity to address an outstanding issue relating to the cancellation of Liberia’s bilateral debt held by a few European Countries, not included in the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) arrangement.

During President Sirleaf’s absence from the country, the Minister of Justice, Cllr. Christiana Tah, as Chairman of the Cabinet for the period May 15-21, and the Minister of National Defense, Hon. Brownie Samukai, for the period May 22- June 2, will coordinate the affairs of the Executive in consultation with Vice President Joseph N. Boakai and under the President’s direction by telephone.