On 28-29 March, 2022, the Ministry of Health of Liberia and DCP3 organized a workshop to assess the existing health services in Liberia against the DCP3 recommended essential Universal Health Coverage package. The workshop is part of the Ministry’s collaboration with the DCP3 Country Translation initiative in revising the Essential Package of Health Services (EPHS) in line with population health needs and available financial resources. Over 70 representatives of the Technical Working Groups, partner agencies, and service providers from different levels of the health system identified the DCP3 interventions which are relevant to the healthcare needs of Liberia and a priority for the country. The outcome of this exercise will inform the prioritization process for choosing and optimizing the EPHS interventions.
In her inaugural speech, Dr Wilhemina Jallah, HE Minister of Health of Liberia, emphasized the importance of an evidence-informed decision making in updating the EPHS and stressed the need to be objective when looking at the EPHS interventions and what is currently delivered in all counties. Dr Francis N. Kateh, Liberia Deputy Minister of Health and Chief Medical Officer and representatives from WHO, USAID and UNICEF Liberia echoed the Ministry’s commitment to evidence-based priority setting and accelerating action towards UHC by 2030.
Following presentations on the DCP3 UHC package and Pakistan’s experience in developing their national EPHS based on DCP3 evidence, the TWGs assessed the existing health services against the 218 DCP3 interventions in the area of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, healthcare access, and emergency preparedness and response. Following group deliberations, 18 of the 218 DCP3 interventions were considered not relevant to the health priorities in Liberia, while 67 interventions were seen as not being provided by the health system. The information provided by the TWGs during the workshop is essential for the prioritization process and will inform further steps in finalizing the contents of the EPHS II in the coming weeks.
One of the TWGs during the mapping workshop, Monrovia