Partners In Health-Liberia

Founded in Rural Haiti by Paul Farmer and friends in 1987, PIH has since expanded worldwide, pioneering community-based care and advocating for health as a human right. In 2014, the government of Liberia invited PIH to join the international response to the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak. PIH provided accompaniment in outbreak preparedness and infection control in the Southeast. After Ebola, the Ministry of Health (MOH) launched the 2015 Investment Plan for Building a Resilient Health System, requesting PIH’s support in enacting this vision. PIH remained, recognizing Ebola as a symptom of deeper systemic weaknesses rooted in years of civil war. PIH’s work is concentrated in Liberia’s rural southeast, aiming to establish Maryland County as a model for rural health delivery and universal health coverage. The region is isolated, with poor road access making travel from Monrovia arduous. PIH’s approach emphasizes the “5S’s”, staff, stuff, space, systems, and social support, and employs a hub and spoke model anchored by J.J. Dossen Hospital (JJD), which serves as a referral center and innovation hub. JJD hosts Liberia’s first decentralized TB ward, provides specialized care, and operates a 3 Star laboratory capable of detecting critical pathogens. Pleebo Health Center, supported by PIH, is the only fully functional public health center in Maryland, serving 50% of the county’s population. PIH works alongside MOH county teams to strengthen essential services, build a continuum of care, and expand access to maternal, child, adolescent, mental health, NCD, HIV, surgery, trauma, and TB services. Beyond Maryland, PIH supports facilities in Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, River Gee, and Sinoe, enhancing laboratory and biomedical services. Nationally, PIH leads TB response efforts, supporting DR TB care at Monrovia’s referral center. Serving a population of about 600,000, PIH’s mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor, guided by rights based health systems strengthening.