Restoring Healthcare to Women and Girls in Liberia

A key component of Liberia’s national health strategy is decentralization, moving care from Monrovia, the capital, to county and district public and private providers, which is where our new Waterfield Primary Care Center fits into the healthcare plan for Margibi County.  As part of the continuing focus on improving Maternal and Child Health, Liberia is committed to keeping all family planning services free of charge.  While HWHL has always focused on women's health programs, up until a few months ago family planning services other than basic women’s health education were referred to government sponsored programs.

As part of our planned expansion of services in the past three months HWHL has implemented a new program offering both family planning health education and birth control services.  One of the Community Health Workers we sent to Ghana for specialized training is leading this program.  During the month of December HWHL saw 161 women for family planning services, 25% under the age of 20. The average age of participants was 25 with the youngest just 12 years old and the oldest 46.  In Liberia and in our clinic the most commonly chosen contraception method is by injection (60%).   The pill (21%), implants (11%), and condoms (5%) are also common.  

Of Liberia’s approximately one million women of reproductive age, an estimated 31 percent want to delay or space their pregnancies but are not using contraception, often because they lack access. Over a quarter of girls aged 15-19 have already given birth, a risky process in Liberia, where the maternal mortality ratio is a staggering 1,072 deaths per 100,000 live births. Frequently spouses and elders discourage or prohibit birth control even when the mother’s age or health put her at risk.  After the birth of a child it is traditional for women to delay birth control until the baby is a year old or is walking.   

Our Community Health Workers (CHWs) provide counseling, dispelling myths, explaining the available family planning services, methods and potential side effects, and responding to questions.  Many people believe that the contraceptives cause cancer, give users infections, or cause infertility among users who have not yet conceived, often blaming the contraceptives for infections, rather than the practice of unprotected sex.  There is an ongoing national initiative to link the cycle of child immunizations and family planning services to encourage women to take control of their maternal health and child spacing decisions within the privacy of the family clinic.   

Your continuing help has allowed us to expand availability, access to, and choices of safe, effective, acceptable, and affordable women’s healthcare services.   Thanks. 

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