Syncrisis, the dynamics of health : 7. Liberia

Eventually all of these problems will have to be faced, but the immediate concern must be the most efficient use of extremely scarce resources to achieve the greatest impact. There is a marked disparity in the provision of health services, be they curative or preventive, between the coastal areas in which the elite resides and the hinterland in which the majority of population lives. However, available data indicate that very few of these services are utilized adequately. Another concern is that while the population has been increasing sharply over the last few years, the total budget for health activities has been decreasing. Malnutrition affects a vast majority of the Liberina population, yet by all accounts, there are readily available foods within economic reach of a large number of the population. Malnutrition is not be blamed so much on poverty, but ignorance and superstition. Public health care, education, and training are needed badly to begin, at least, to improve environmental sanitation and population planning. Formal medical training should be brought up to date and tailored to Liberia"s needs and finally, a logistics system is needed to improve drug and equipment supply.