Save Lives in the World's Most Remote Villages

This month, Grace reached an exciting milestone in her personal life, the life of her community, and the history of Liberia. Formerly a full-time subsistence farmer, Grace has been serving as a community health worker with Last Mile Health and the Government of Liberia in a remote region of Rivercess County since 2015. After years of building trust within her community and undergoing several rounds of rigorous training, Grace is now fully-qualified to provide a comprehensive package of lifesaving healthcare services to her neighbors.

For more than two years, Last Mile Health has been working with the Government of Liberia and other partners to develop a nationwide community health worker program to serve the 1.2 million Liberians who live far from the nearest health clinic or hospital. In January 2017, the vision of access to healthcare for all Liberians came to life with the launch of community health worker trainings across Liberia. Just six months later, a total of 2,023 community health workers like Grace are now fully-trained to care for pregnant women and neonates; diagnose and treat common childhood illnesses; provide support to patients living with HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and specific Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs); and prevent outbreaks of infectious disease.

By completing her training, Grace has become part of a transformative moment in Liberia’s history. At the national level, the launch of this groundbreaking program will extend lifesaving healthcare to corners of the country previously thought to be too difficult to reach. And since Grace and her fellow community health workers are trained to recognize and report the early signs of a potential infectious disease outbreak, they will play a critical role in building a safer, healthier future for all Liberians no matter where they live.

At home in her remote community in Rivercess, Grace’s training is already having an impact on the lives of her neighbors – particularly women and children. For the first time ever, those living in the large farming community far from the nearest clinic have access to a full suite of healthcare services right at their doorsteps. When a child falls ill, they can receive a diagnosis and treatment from Grace within hours instead of having to wait days or even weeks until transport to the health facility can be arranged. And when a woman becomes pregnant, Grace will stop by regularly to monitor for complications, help the woman develop a plan to travel to the clinic for the delivery, and provide education on topics like breastfeeding and proper nutrition during pregnancy.

And for Grace herself, her role in transforming access to healthcare is fulfilling a deep sense of meaning and purpose. “I have a passion for my community people, so I don’t want to see anybody’s life going away,” Grace shared. “That is the reason for which I want to do this job.”