IMC Part of New Chapter of Hope in Lofa County

Lofa, the largest county in northern Liberia, was also the hardest-hit area during the country’s 14-year civil war. Many rebel groups used Lofa County as their main base, forcing inhabitants to flee to neighboring countries like Guinea and Sierra Leone. With the end of the civil war, Lofa is experiencing the highest returnee rate in the entire country. In 2006 more than 255,000 Liberians are expected to return to Lofa County. This year an estimated 100,000 people will use IMC’s 18 clinics and surgical centers in Lofa County. IMC provides primary and secondary health care, gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS prevention training, peer education and condom distribution, and works with communities to establish and run local village health committees. IMC’s staff of surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, certified midwives and lab technicians receive training in numerous areas including clinical management, surgery and midwifery.

PHOTO: IMC IMC has built 18 new clinics and surgical centers in Lofa County, Liberia.

IMC promotes HIV/AIDS and GBV education Lawrence Kollie and David Lamach work for IMC in Lofa County. Last September they started HIV/AIDS and gender based violence awareness campaigns to educate students and returnees at transit centers in the region. Kollie and Lamach also train and educate medical staff, traditional birth attendants, teachers and members of village health committees at IMC clinics.

In November, Kollie saw an increase in HIV/AIDS awareness in schools and communities as well as an increase in condom distribution. He has noticed a change in the community’s attitude towards the disease and has started working to identify community peer groups and educators to help reinforce the messages to reach many other villages or towns. Kollie is also lobbying to make HIV/AIDS prevention education part of the school curriculum in 2006.

IMC and the Village Health Committee IMC arrived in Lofa County in 2004 and began forming new VHCs and revitalizing old ones. VHCs offer possible returnees the use of health facilities, skills training and livelihood projects in their villages and towns. IMC uses a community-based approach, in which residents select their own committee members based on their experience with health issues, community empowerment activities and development The VHC meets twice a month with the county health team who works directly with the Ministry of Health. They discuss sustainable development and empowerment projects in order to finance the health clinics. The idea behind these committees is to come up with community-based systems that will ensure clinics will stay open and function properly after IMC leaves. “We know that IMC is not going to be here forever, but we are thankful that they have been able to help organize us by forming and reinforcing our village health committees,” said Hawa, who arrived here in 2005 from Koindu, a town in Sierra Leone that borders Liberia and Guinea. “Before IMC leaves, they will help VHCs develop plans for farming and skills training to make the clinic continue so that the systems are in place for a smooth transition from IMC directly to the Ministry of Health.”

Livelihood activities in VHCs In order to maintain sustainable health facilities, VHCs rely on community cooperation. VHCs encourage members of the community to participate in livelihood activities like cassava farming, poultry and swamp farming. When these products are sold in markets, the money earned is spent on health care that benefits the community.

VHCs also stress the importance of skills training, micro-credit and other pre-vocational activities like carpentry, masonry and agriculture, which will help communities financially. Not only does this make people more secure, it also helps communities sustain their health system.