By Bill W. Cooper
The administrator of the John F. Kennedy (JFK) Hospital in Monrovia, has decried the lack of basic medical supplies and essential drugs at that major referral facility.
The Administrator has at the same time pleaded with the government and other philanthropists for urgent assistance to address the critical shortage of the needed supplies that is putting the lives of patients at risk.
The JFK Administrator’s assertion comes when several persons were reported dead with six others in critical condition were deposited at JFK late Monday, May 27, 2024 evening as a result of a fatal accident which occurred along the Kakata-Monrovia Highway.
The overwhelming situation again exposed the many challenges facing the Liberian healthcare system, as it is clear that urgent action is needed to address these critical shortage of supplies at the country’s most referral facility and other public facilities in the country.
This news also came from the United States Government through its USAID Director to Liberia, Jim Wright, saying that over 90 percent of donated drugs to the government by donors were being stolen and illegally sold in several drug stores in the country.
He said while critical medicine is often lacking in public health facilities, the same items can easily be found in private pharmacies and that is unacceptable adding, “That means that medicine is only available to patients that have enough money to buy them.”
“Patients that don’t have enough money are left to suffer, and unfortunately, due to theft, fraud, and mismanagement, these donated health commodities often fail to reach the people who need them the most,” he asserted.
“I have traveled to all 15 counties in Liberia, and I have seen empty dispensary shelves in public health facilities across the nation. This is a serious problem, and this is seriously unfair and immoral,” Wright added.
As if buttressing this revelation, the JFK Administrator further disclosed that up to the time of the arrival of the accident patients, the hospital had run out of medical supplies including drugs to treat accident patients and others.
The administrator admitted, “Our doctors and nurses are doing their best with the limited resources available to them, but they are stretched to their limits and they are working overtime just to ensure lives are saved.”
Meanwhile, this latest pronouncement by the JFK Administrator further shows how the country’s healthcare system is under immense strain, and needs urgent intervention to prevent a further deterioration in the quality of care that needed to be provided to patients.
