By Grace Q. Bryant
The Ministry of Health, in partnership with Plan International Liberia and with support from the Global Fund, recently concluded a two-day workshop aimed at strengthening Liberia’s laboratory services and integrated lab management systems.
The workshop convened key stakeholders, including members of the Association of Lab Technicians in Liberia, laboratory experts, and diagnostic service providers from both Liberia and abroad.
It focused on addressing quality and operational challenges within Liberia’s laboratory services, exploring strategies for improvement, change management processes, and enhancing leadership across the healthcare sector.
A Ministry of Health representative emphasized the importance of aligning with change to drive progress, noting that holding onto the status quo could hinder achieving key targets.
“We’ve learned that if you want to excel or achieve something, you must be willing to adapt, at the end of this workshop, we’re returning to our stations with new insights on leadership, management, and quality enhancement, particularly around COVID-19 response and quality systems in labs” MOH representative said.
In recent time, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Global Fund, Plan International Liberia, and other health sector partners, hosted two further workshops focused on tuberculosis (TB) and HIV interventions.
These sessions reviewed Liberia’s current TB and HIV response efforts, discussed existing challenges, and developed strategies to strengthen intervention measures nationwide.
The workshops align with a recent high-level visit from the Global Fund’s Africa delegation, aimed at assessing health sector investments, particularly in TB interventions.
The delegation held strategic meetings with Ministry of Health officials and the Liberia Coordinating Mechanism, which oversees Global Fund activities in Liberia.
These engagements support the Global Fund Grant Cycle Seven (Gc7), a comprehensive funding initiative that supports HIV and TB programs, Resilient Health System Strengthening (RHSS), COVID-19 response (C-19RM), and malaria interventions. With a total of $117.5 million allocated under the Global Fund’s 2024-2026 funding framework, GC7 grants aim to bolster Liberia’s health infrastructure and resilience.
In July 2024, President Joseph Boakai officially launched the GC7 and C-19RM grants, reaffirming Liberia’s commitment to strengthening its health security. The GC7 funding supports national efforts across HIV, TB, malaria, and COVID-19, including Wave 2 COVID-19 investments to enhance Liberia’s preparedness and resilience against public health crises.
This funding is anticipated to play a crucial role in advancing Liberia’s health sector and addressing critical health needs nationwide.
