Temperature - European Investment Bank

WEST AFRICAN POWER POOL (WAPP) PÖYRY ENERGY LTD.
Mount Coffee HPP ESIA and RAP 2012-09-18
ESIA Report Page 118
17.1.1 Qualitative Data Collection
The qualitative data collection involved formal and informal interviews with key
informants (see Annex 17). These also include Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
(MoHSW) officials, traditional leaders and local population. Interviews to identify
constraints to the hydroelectric installation as well as the main waterborne and
wastewater diseases affecting the population at the project’s catchment area, especially
the most vulnerable have been carried out. These were supplemented with content
analysis of secondary data, information from official publications and other related
official literature. Groups’ participants were selected on convenient basis by the
principal investigator. Transcripts of interviews, field notes, and relevant literature were
analysed on the basis of themes that addressed the health assessment objectives.
17.1.2 Quantitative Data Collection
Quantitative data were drawn from a variety of sources. The two most important are: (i)
statistics recorded from each health facility (county hospital, health centres and clinics),
and (ii) the health administration at the MoHSW in charge of the compilation and
follow-up on health indicators towards national health objectives. Data from facility
records collected by the interviewers included information on the number of new
outpatient visits to the facility in the preceding year (from 1 st January 2011 to 31 st
December 2011). Returning patients were excluded from the analysis to avoid double
counting.
17.2 Present Situation
17.2.1 Health Policy, System and National Challenges
The Government of Liberia issued its National Health Policy in 2000 as a result of the
health sector reform. The document which is the operational frame of the health system
sets targets for the period 2000-2024 and emphasizes the importance of achieving
access to basic primary health care services for all segments of the population. The
health policy specifies that the health services should include preventive, curative and
promotional components. In order to achieve the goals of the health policy and make
health care delivery services throughout the country more effective and efficient, a
twenty four-year health sector development strategy was formulated, being
implemented through a series of five-year plans with corresponding milestone indicators
for each interval.
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) is responsible for health care
delivery at the policy level. Under the decentralized approach adopted in the delivery of
health care by the country, the Ministry’s primary responsibility is to provide policy
guidelines and direction for the health and social welfare sector. Other responsibilities
include macro-planning, resource mobilization, broad programming, monitoring and
evaluation, technical oversight of service delivery, and major research and development
initiatives.
At the operational level of the health care delivery system, there are County Health
Teams (CHTs). These teams supervise all dimensions of public health care at both
primary and secondary levels in the counties and operate under the supervision of the
MoHSW. The Liberian health system is characterized by a three-tier system with a
Primary Health Care unit (PHCU) which comprises one Clinic for every 2,500 persons,