Building on decades of partnership and collaboration with the Government of Liberia (GOL), USAID/Liberia’s health program seeks to improve the health status of all Liberians, especially the most vulnerable: women, girls, and children under age five.  USAID pursues this goal through interventions that support the GOL’s Investment Plan for Building a Resilient Health System in Liberia.  Our work is guided by the following objectives:

• Increased utilization of quality Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Services;
• Increased effectiveness of the health systems at national and county levels;
• Improved government capacity to control infectious diseases; and
• Increased access to safe water and sanitation.

To ensure the maximum benefit from U.S. government (USG) investments, USAID supports high-impact Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH), Family Planning, Reproductive Health, Malaria, and interventions for ending preventable child and maternal deaths through strengthened health systems and increased access to quality health services.

USAID’s health program has five components: Service Delivery involving government to government funding for primary health care services; Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) technical assistance; President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) commodities and technical assistance; Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) program support and technical assistance; and Water and Sanitation program support.

SERVICE DELIVERY

Aligning with USAID’s core principles of country ownership and integrated health systems for sustainable impact, the centerpiece of USAID’s assistance for strengthening the quality and availability of facility-based primary health care services is a direct financing agreement with the Ministry of Health.  This agreement supports the implementation of the Ministry of Health’s 10-year Health Policy and Plan (2011-2021) and the national Essential Package of Health Services (EPHS) in six counties: Bong, Nimba, Lofa, Grand Gedeh, River Gee, and Grand Cape Mount.  At the community level, USAID support expands access to and use of quality primary care services by training community health assistants and disseminating behavior change messages; expanding access to immunization services and information for children under five; supporting an environment in which youth feel empowered to seek health care; expanding access to clean drinking water; supporting integrated community case management of childhood illnesses; and improving sanitation and hygiene through community-led sanitation initiatives. 

USAID, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), provides technical and financial support for HIV epidemic control in Montserrado County, with a particular focus on key populations at highest risk of the virus.  This support includes community outreach, innovative and high-impact testing, and support for retention in treatment. 

Lastly, USAID supports strengthening the Liberia Healthcare Federation of private sector healthcare providers in Liberia to improve quality and efficiency within the sector and strengthen the relationship between the public and private sectors.

HEALTH SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING 

USAID/Liberia’s Health Systems Strengthening portfolio covers a comprehensive set of activities to support the Ministry of Health and the National Public Health Institute of Liberia. USAID’s investments focus specifically on supporting the Ministry through specific technical assistance at the central, county, and district levels to improve leadership and governance capacity for stronger, decentralized management of health services; to ensure the availability and financial viability of health services; to manage and maintain an adequately-sized workforce of qualified health care providers; to improve the quality, availability, and use of health information systems data; to support quality assurance and quality improvement at all levels of the health system; and to manage the supply chain, storage, and distribution of health commodities and medicines. Technical assistance is provided at the central and county-levels by embedded advisors who work side-by-side with their Ministry of Health counterparts. 

PRESIDENT’S MALARIA INITIATIVE

President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) activities are integrated throughout USAID’s portfolio and are focused on improving malaria case management, promoting the quality of medicines, preventing malaria during pregnancy, integrating vector management, and strengthening the health commodity supply chain system to improve availability of medicines to the end users.  PMI also provides technical advisors who are embedded within the National Malaria Control Program to support key operations.  The vision of the Liberia malaria program is a healthier Liberia with universal access to high quality malaria interventions with no malaria deaths. USAID’s PMI program support is coupled with Global Fund interventions in preventing, treating, and controlling malaria.