Liberia’s new U.S. health deal is being sold as progress, but experts warn it may leave the country more vulnerable than ever. Funding for lifesaving programs has been slashed, oversight is weaker, and critical services for women and families could disappear just when Liberians need them most. Even more alarming, the agreement gives the U.S….
By Joyclyn Wea, health reporter and New Narratives editors Summary: Late last year, the government of Liberia signed a five-year health agreement with the United States. President Joseph Boakai’s administration celebrated the deal as a step toward taking control of the country’s own health system. But health experts, former U.S. government officials, and civil society groups are raising serious…
In October, during World Sight Day celebrations, Liberia’s Health Ministry announced an ambitious promise: to screen one thousand students and distribute twelve thousand donated reading glasses nationwide.Six months later, the ministry says about one fourth of those glasses have been distributed but it still has not given details on who received them. That’s leading vision…
COUNTRIES ACROSS AFRICA ARE CLOSELY MONITORING CASES OF AN OUTBREAK OF MPOX DISEASE. THE DISEASE HAS LONG SICKENED PEOPLE IN WEST AFRICA BUT IT HAS BEEN FAIRLY MILD WITH JUST ONE IN ONE HUNDRED PEOPLE DYING AFTER INFECTION. THAT HAS CHANGED IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO WHERE MORE THAN THIRTY THOUSAND PEOPLE HAVE…
By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives MONROVIA, Liberia—Finance Minister Boima Kamara has said health issues were the cause of his absence from duty over recent months leading President Boakai to request his resignation as reported by Front Page Africa on Monday. Front Page Africa/New Narratives have learned that in a closed-door UN donor meeting on July 3…
Heart disease, cancer, mental illness and diabetes are some of a group of diseases that are growing at an alarming rate in Liberia, killing far more people than better known killers like malaria and typhoid.More than one in three deaths are now caused by so-called lifestyle diseases – preventable diseases that are primarily caused by…
By Tetee Gebro with New Narratives In a three-part series Tetee Gebro, senior reporter with Front Page Africa and New Narratives, examines what health experts call Liberia’s “next epidemic” and the barriers to helping Liberians retake control of their health. NEEZOE, Montserrado County —In 2018, William Pewu was living a regular life like most Liberians. The 54-year-old father of…
Across the country, experts are raising the alarm about the growing number of Liberians becoming sick and dying from so called non-comminable diseases like diabetes, heart disease and stroke.Experts say the greatest tragedy is that they are preventable with the right information and lifestyle changes.But in part two of this series on the crisis, Tetee…
By Tetee Gebro with New Narratives In this series Tetee Gebro, senior reporter with Front Page Africa and New Narratives, examines what health experts call Liberia’s “next epidemic” and the barriers to helping Liberians retake control of their health. In 2018 Kulah Quaqua began her usual day waking up early, heading to her job as…
By Fatu Kamara with New Narratives Summary In October, as part of World Sight Day celebrations, Liberia’s National Eye Health Program made an exciting announcement: an ambitious program by the unit housed in the Ministry of Health promised to deliver badly needed help to Liberian students struggling with poor vision. The program was to screen…
By Gloria Wleh with New Narratives SINJE, Grand Cape Mount County – Asata’s war experience would make anyone cry. In 1996, when she was 22 years old, Asata says a group of five older rebels from the ULIMO K faction gang raped her. She was left emotionally and physically scarred. Before the rape Asata dreamed…
Since the end of the civil conflicts in 2003 there has been no comprehensive assessment of the state of Liberians mental health. But experts say there is no doubt that at least a million of us are suffering.And as Liberia begins the process to hold accused perpetrators to account in a war crimes court, experts…
By Gloria Wleh with New Narratives Liberia’s Ministry of Health and the National Public Health Institute have expressed concern over a rapid increase in mpox cases in neighboring Sierra Leone. The country has reported a total of 2,634 confirmed mpox cases and 14 deaths, marking a significant increase since the country’s first cases were identified…
Three young men are dead after sleeping inside a locked store on Camp Johnson Road, in central Monrovia. As Tetee Gebro tells us police say an investigation is ongoing, but health experts warn the men may have died from deadly indoor air pollution. New Narratives’ Tetee Gebro reports from Montserrado County for Okay FM. This…
Liberia’s stalled Public Health Bill has revived debate over abortion. One former lawmaker and advocate for the bill says it would make abortion available for life saving emergencies such as ectopic pregnancy complications, fetal malformity and mental illnes. Joyclyn Wea reports in this social media Video. To read more about this story click this link: https://frontpageafricaonline.com/health/liberia-former-legislator-and-abortion-advocate-says-public-health-bill-is-not-abortion-on-demand-but-live-saving-measure/…
Across Africa, a new malaria drug for newborns and young infants is being hailed as a breakthrough, one that could save tens of thousands of lives each year.The medicine is already approved in eight African countries. But in Liberia, where malaria remains one of the leading killers of children, health officials say it may take…
By Tetee Gebro, New Narratives health correspondent Summary: SWAKAMORE, Monrovia – Here in this community on the outskirts of the capital, silence has replaced laughter. On Friday morning, three young men from the community, who had been preparing to paint a store, were found dead after sleeping inside the enclosed space. The store, in Camp…
By Joyclyn Wea, New Narratives health correspondent Summary When a pregnancy turns dangerous, doctors do not always have time to debate words. Liberian pharmacist and former politician Joseph Somwarbi told a recent workshop in Monrovia that abortion opponents have taken advantage of the issue to score political points at the cost of thousands of Liberian women’s…
A breakthrough malaria drug now approved and rolling out in eight African countries offers new hope for saving infants’ lives after years without an age-appropriate treatment, but Liberia risks being left behind as experts urge faster regulatory action to close the treatment gap in a nation still battling one of the region’s highest malaria burdens…
Summary: · Health experts are urging swift regulatory approval for “Coartem Baby”, a groundbreaking new malaria drug for infants under six months, warning delays could cost lives. · Liberia continues to battle one of Africa’s highest malaria burdens, with nearly one million cases and an estimated 3,500 deaths in 2023 — most among children under…
Medical Experts are raising a warning saying more and more people are staying sick because the medicines meant to kill harmful germs that cause malaria, diarrhea and other dangerous illnesses —aren’t working anymore.The reason? Many Liberians are using antibiotics and other powerful drugs the wrong way, and that misuse is making these medicines weaker and…
