Throughout the five-year project period RRHO will support and complement HRSA’s Resilient and Responsive Health Systems (RRHS) initiative implemented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Liberia. In so doing, both projects will jointly strengthen the ability of the impact partners to become self-learning organizations that are also interdependent and can promote and capacitate South-South engagement with the goal of contributing to PEPFAR’s human resources for health (HRH) strategy:
- Liberian Board for Nursing and Midwifery (LBNM)
- College of Health and Life Sciences / A.M. Dogliotti Medical School
- John F. Kennedy (JFK) Medical Center
National Policies
Visit the Resource Library to access and download national policies & guidelines for Liberia.
Country Indicators
Population (Global Health Observatory, 2015): 4,503,000
Life expectancy at birth M/F (years) (Global Health Observatory, 2015): 60/63
HIV in Liberia
Since 2010, new HIV infections have decreased by 28% and AIDS-related deaths have increased by 20%. The laboratory system and supply chain management have the biggest challenges to the AIDS response in Liberia, with frequent antiretroviral therapy stock-outs. The Ebola virus disease outbreak in March 2014 further weakened the health system as health workers died and access to HIV services reduced by 50% in 2015. Test and treat has not been fully implemented. The national AIDS commission is leading the implementation of a two-year catch-up plan, focusing on the three counties and using a differentiated model to identify the most affected populations and locations (UNAIDS).
Number of people living with HIV (UNAIDS 2017): 40,000 [32,000 - 50,000]
Adults aged 15 to 49 prevalence rate (UNAIDS 2017): 1.4% [1.1% - 1.7%]
Adults aged 15 and over living with HIV (UNAIDS 2017): 37,000 [30,000 - 46,000]
Women aged 15 and over living with HIV (UNAIDS 2017): 22,000 [18,000 - 28,000]
Children aged 0 to 14 living with HIV (UNAIDS 2017): 3,300 [2,500 - 4,300]
Deaths due to AIDS (UNAIDS 2017): 2,500 [2,000 - 3,000]
Orphans due to AIDS aged 0 to 17 (UNAIDS 2017): 37,000 [32,000 - 43,000]
WHO Building Blocks in Liberia
This WHO framework describes health systems in terms of six core components or “building blocks” including service delivery, health workforce, health information systems, access to essential medicines, financing, and leadership & governance (WHO, 2010). Click on each tab to explore these health system indicators.
Service Delivery
- Total health facilities (Investment Plan, 2015) (2014): 725 (35 hospitals, 51 HC, 639 clinics)
- Facilities by county and facility density (Investment Plan, 2015): see Table 1 below
- Facility:Population (Investment Plan, 2015): 1 health facility: 5,500 people
- Functional health facilities per 10,000 persons (Investment Plan, 2015, pg.34): 1.63
- % of health facilities with all utilities, ready to provide services (water, electricity) (Invest Plan, 2015, p.34): 55%
- % population living within 5km of health facility (Investment Plan, 2015): 71% [Counties 32-96%]
Table 1: Facilities by county and facility density, source: Investment Plan, 2015 (pg. 7)
| County | 2015 population projection | Health facility per county | Facility density per 10,000 pop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bomi | 97,291 | 24 | 2.5 |
| Bong | 385,701 | 39 | 1.01 |
| Gbarpolu | 96,446 | 14 | 1.45 |
| Grand Bassa | 256,408 | 29 | 1.13 |
| Grand Cape Mount | 146,975 | 32 | 2.18 |
| Grand Gedeh | 144,872 | 18 | 1.24 |
| Grand Kru | 66,982 | 17 | 2.54 |
| Lofa | 320,218 | 56 | 1.75 |
| Margibi | 242,795 | 33 | 1.36 |
| Maryland | 157,225 | 24 | 1.53 |
| Montserrado | 1,293,349 | 240 | 1.86 |
| Nimba | 534,376 | 62 | 1.2 |
| River Gee | 77,248 | 17 | 2.2 |
| Rivercess | 82,707 | 18 | 2.2 |
| Sinoe | 117,813 | 33 | 2.8 |
| Total | 4,020,406 | 656 | 1.63 |