By Esau J. Farr
The Pentecostal Mission Unlimited-Liberia (PMU-Liberia) has confirmed the scaling down of its projects in Liberia as a result of what it considers as donor fatigue.
(L-R) Rev. Jallah Kormah @ far right and others
According to the Executive Director of PMU-Liberia, Rev. Jallah Kormah, due to lack of donor funding, the organization has scaled down projects and reduced staff by at least half in the country.
Speaking in an interview with this paper over the weekend, Rev. Kormah said his organization currently operates with a ‘Skeleton Staff’ to help keep the institution running while experts scout out for projects for the organization.
The International Rescue Committee has been the lead partner in sponsoring PMU-Liberia along with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Those international organizations have been providing both financial and logistical supports to the institution thereby making it to stand tall amongst other national partners in providing needed basic health services as well as community services including civic education on critical national issues like the 2017 Representative and Presidential Elections in Liberia.
As a result of the inputs made by the institution and impact on the lives of people in Lofa and other parts of Liberia, PMU-Liberia won the right to be in charge of sixteen health centers and four hospitals in Lofa from the government of Liberia and has been in charge for some years now.
But speaking during the interview over the weekend, Rev. Kormah disclosed that his institution has formerly turned over the responsibility of taking care of the health facilities and hospitals to the Ministry of Health as a result of cut in the Ministry of Health’s budget from US$12m to five million United States Dollars after the passage of the 2018/2019 Fiscal Budget.
According to him, as a result of the more than 100% reduction in the annual budget to the leeward counties in the Health Ministry’s allotment, authorities of the Ministry of Health have resolved to use County Health Teams (CHTs) in the concerned areas of operation (Bong, Nimba and Lofa) to provide the needed health services previously overseen by PMU-Liberia.
Meanwhile, Rev. Kormah has expressed dissatisfaction over the reduction of the Ministry of Health’s allotment in the 2018/2019 Fiscal Budget that resulted to putting his organization out of active service with his people adding that he loves working with his people providing the needed services especially rural dwellers who need so much and special attention and required specialized practitioners for actualized health care deliverables and statistical indicators.
He expressed fears that the issues of obtaining health indicators by health care providers as required by national and international health partners is a special task that needs to be handled with care.
He maintained that the issues of community entry, terrain management and taking services to the people are cardinal points in such endeavors that help to achieve an overall goal.
Rev. Kormah has however expressed his organization’s willingness to help those just taking over to provide health services in the concern counties to provide some guidance and consultancy to enhance their works since health is everybody’s business and healthy people build a healthy nation.
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