Evaluation: Quality of Care in Hospitals Supported by the Liberia Health System Strengthening Project

The post-war Liberia health system remains fragile. A critical shortage of health workers, erratic supply of drugs and vaccines, and poor infrastructure are among the major barriers to the provision of quality healthcare in the country. To rebuild the Liberian health system and improve the quality of mother and child health (MCH) care, the Government of Liberia in collaboration with the World Bank and the GFF implemented a Health Systems Strengthening Project (HSSP) between May 2013 and November 2021. The main objective of the HSSP was to improve the quality of primary and secondary health care services, with a focus on maternal, neonatal and child health. To evaluate the performance of the hospitals which were supported under the HSSP, an evaluation comparing six HSSP hospitals (intervention) to three non-HSSP hospitals (control) was conducted. The aim of the study was to assess; (i) availability of health workers, infrastructure, and supplies; (ii) motivation of the health workers; (iii) skills and capacity of the health workers to perform in obstetrics, pediatrics, emergency, and surgery; and (iv) patient satisfaction.