TTM Trained Traditional Midwife VDC Village Development Committee VPD Vaccine Preventable Disease VHW Village Health Worker Executive summary The overreaching goal of health and social welfare sector is to expand Liberia’s access to basic health and social welfare services of acceptable quality and establish the building blocks of equitable, effective, responsive and sustainable health and social welfare services service delivery system. This goal is measured by the attainment of two critical targets: reduction in the number of maternal related deaths by 10% and reduction in number of deaths in children under age five years by 15%. The Basic Package of Health Services established by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has been successfully rolled out throughout the country and evidence indicates that the health status of the population is improving. However, maternal and child mortality remain high and major killers like malaria and diarrheal disease continue to be among the most common illnesses, while new diseases reflecting changes in lifestyle and diet threaten the population. Despite the success of the Basic Package of Health Services, the public facility network continues to leave out a large proportion of the population living more than one hour walk from a health faculty. The health system workforce lacks the right mix of skills, and it should deploy according to service delivery needs. Skilled providers should be retained where they are needed most. Resources allocated for service delivery in both urban and rural areas do not closely reflect the size of the catchment population and facility workload. Referral linkages between the various levels of the system do not function well.
TTM Trained Traditional Midwife VDC Village Development Committee VPD VHW Vaccine Preventable Disease Village Health Worker Executive summary The overreaching goal of Liberia’s health and social welfare sector is to expand access to basic health and social welfare services of acceptable quality and establish the building blocks of equitable, effective, responsive and sustainable health and social welfare services service delivery system. This goal is measured by the attainment of two critical targets: reduction in the number of maternal related deaths by 10% and reduction in number of deaths in children under age five years by 15%. The Basic Package of Health Services established by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has been successfully rolled out throughout the country and evidence indicates that the health status of the population is improving. However, maternal and child mortality remain high and major killers like malaria and diarrheal disease continue to be among the most common illnesses, while new diseases reflecting changes in lifestyle and diet threaten the population. Despite the success of the Basic Package of Health Services, the public facility network continues to leave out a large proportion of the population living more than one hour walk from a health faculty. The health system workforce lacks the right mix of skills, and it should deploy according to service delivery needs. Skilled providers should be retained where they are needed most. Resources allocated for service delivery in both urban and rural areas do not closely reflect the size of the catchment population and facility workload. Referral linkages between the various levels of the system do not function well.