By Ballah M. Kollie
MONROVIA, June 18 (LINA) –The Administrator of Kolahun Hospital Jusu Anthony K. Armah is lauding government for its support to the hospital but wants said support topped up to meet the operational and other demands of the facility.
He revealed that the hospital’s over US$250,000 allotment is not addressing some needs of the hospital, citing ambulance service,
residence for doctors and nurses, among other critical needs.
This amount was the hospital’s allotment in the 2017/2018 National Budget that ends June 30, he said.
Speaking on Monday in a mobile phone interview with the Liberia News Agency, Mr. Armah said only U$120,000 of the total allotment has been made available while the fate of the balance remains uncertain due to the lapsing of the budget period.
He revealed that the pull out of the NGO called IRC has created serious gaps as it left the hospital with only one ambulance and the
responsibility to solely run the affairs of the hospital.
« Currently, our consumption rate of both generator fuel and gasoline for motorcycles stands at 45 to 50 gallons daily and these are some of
the reasons why we want our allotment topped, » said Armah.
He also told LINA that the patient rate has also increased, attributing this to the level of awareness on the need for citizens
to make use of medical facilities in the district.
The Kolahun hospital is one of 59 medical facilities in Lofa County and it serves as the only referral facility to two health centers and
nine clinics in the district.
Armah termed the construction of homes for doctors and nurses, the provision of additional ambulance as few of many cardinal things that
will help reduce constraints faced by employees and the hospital.
Based in Kolba City, where the scars of the war remain visible, finding a home to stay, as well as other difficulties associated with
rental, remains a challenge, especially for strangers.
LINA BMK/PTK
