Liberia has declared the last Saturday of every month National Exercise and Wellness Day as hypertension, obesity and other chronic diseases become a growing health threat. Tetee Gebro reports on the campaign and why health officials say regular exercise, healthier eating and routine health checks must become everyday habits. This story was produced in collaboration…
Cases of severe child malnutrition are rising in Liberia, as misinformation about infant feeding, healthcare costs and cuts to international aid put vulnerable babies at greater risk. In Grand Bassa County, the story of four-month-old Princess shows the devastating consequences when families lack access to accurate nutrition information and affordable treatment. King Brown reports in…
By Augusta S. Lafalay, senior reporter with New Narratives Summary: • A nationwide Ebola preparedness assessment found Liberia 69 percent ready overall, while logistics scored only 47 percent, leaving major gaps in equipment, supplies, isolation facilities and training. • Frontline health workers say those logistics gaps can mean the difference between safely isolating a suspected…
A decade after Liberia was declared Ebola-free, many survivors and families are still living with the emotional, physical, and economic scars of the devastating outbreak. From grandparents raising orphaned children to survivors coping with lingering health challenges and trauma, their stories highlight the long road to recovery and the need for continued support, remembrance, and…
By Nukanah Kollie with New Narratives Summary: SUAKOKO, Bong County — All was calm at Phebe Hospital on a recent afternoon. White buildings sat behind freshly cut grass. Ambulances stood nearby. The former Ebola Treatment Unit looked like an ordinary hospital ward. More than a decade ago, it was part of an hourly battle between life…
By JENNIFER AMBOLLEY ASHAIMAN, Accra — Salma Iddrisu sits beside her large pan here in the centre of the Ashaiman scrapyard, selling food to workers as the day’s activities go on around her. The 38-year-old has been doing this for the past six years. She arrives in the morning, sets up her food and can…
By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, climate and environment reporter with New Narratives Summary GBAA-GAYE TOWN, Grand Bassa County – Eight-month-old Helen does not play the way babies usually do. She lies against her mother’s chest, as they sit under a palaver hut in this remote village surrounded by forest and accessible by one hand-cut road. Helen’s legs are…
Health experts in Ghana have raised serious concerns after research revealed that seven out of ten women reportedly take antibiotics every month. They warn that this widespread practice could accelerate antimicrobial resistance, making common infections harder to treat and posing catastrophic risks to public health if urgent action is not taken. Jennifer Ambolley reports in…
By King Brown with New Narratives Summary: BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa County— The sun is hot here in Big Joe Town, outside Grand Bassa’s capital city. Lovetee, 21, sits on a wooden chair watching her four-month-old daughter, Princess, lying weak on her lap, suffering from diarrhea. Princess’s ribs show through her skin, and her hair is thinning…
By Augusta S. Lafalay, senior reporter with New Narratives Summary: In 2021 Anthony Gbeh had never heard the word “dialysis”. Today, it has become the center of his life. The 45-year-old goes to the country’s only dialysis center here at John F. Kennedy hospital, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, spending about 12 hours a week…
By Tetee Gebro, gender and health correspondent with New Narratives Summary: In the four years to 2023 the European Union spent $16 million to boost the systems that would keep Liberians safe from gender-based violence. But in 2026 FrontPage Africa/New Narratives found a completely broken legal system in which victims had little chance of accessing…
Similar findings in an investigation in Liberia suggests the practice may be happening across the West Africa By Jennifer Ambolley in collaboration with New Narratives Summary: ● More than seven in 10 women surveyed by The Chronicle in Greater Accra said they take antibiotics every month, in the mistaken belief the drugs “clean” their bodies after menstruation…
A woman named Saybah Kollie died after undergoing surgery at Stockton Creek Health Center in Caldwell, where a man posing as a doctor operated on her without any medical qualifications. Despite being asked to provide a license in 2022, the Liberia Medical and Dental Council failed to stop him from practicing, exposing Liberians to grave…
By Tetee Gebro, health and gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary CALDWELL, Monrovia — Saybah Kollie collapsed on a Sunday morning in early April, two days after her son’s second birthday. Her husband, Blama Kamara, and the community chairman rushed her to the closest clinic. Over the next few weeks, Saybah’s family said, she suffered at…
By Tetee Gebro, gender and health correspondent with New Narratives Summary MOUNT BARCLAY, Montserrado County — Victoria remembers the moment when her joy at delivering a baby girl turned to fear. The baby came early, at Victoria’s home. She did not cry. The midwife turned her upside down, trying everything to get a sound out of her….
Liberia’s Sexual and Reproductive Rights Coalition has spent five years shifting public attitudes, training young people, and building support for reproductive health. Despite these achievements, the coalition’s central demand—the inclusion of abortion access in the stalled Public Health Bill—remains unresolved due to Senate delays, leaving women vulnerable and pushing activists to call for stronger local…
By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Five years ago, organizations working on sexual and reproductive health across Liberia reached the same conclusion: acting alone was not enough. With funding from the Swedish government, they formed the Amplifying Rights Network, a coalition that has since trained community leaders, mobilized thousands of citizens, and…
Liberia’s new five‑year, US$124 million health compact with the U.S. is drawing sharp scrutiny as other African nations reject similar deals over concerns about data sovereignty, specimen sharing, and funding obligations. Civil society groups warn that the agreement could give U.S. entities long‑term access to sensitive health information without adequate safeguards, while shifting financial burdens…
For most families, the birth of a child is a moment of joy and anticipation. But when complications arise, that joy can quickly turn into tragedy.Across Liberia, patients and health workers say the inability to pay emergency care costs are leading to death and injury for mothers and babies.As Fatu Kamara reports in this collaboration…
By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Ghana has become the third African country to reject a proposed U.S. health agreement, with government officials saying the deal would have given U.S. entities broad access to sensitive national health data, including metadata and analytical tools, without sufficient safeguards or prior approval. The deal included provisions that…
A measles outbreak struck Kiangia Town in January, moving silently from home to home before families realized what was happening. With clinics closed or lacking medicine, parents and grandparents relied on traditional remedies like leaves, honey, and alcohol, which experts say offered no protection. One child, Samuel, just four years old, died, while others suffered…
