Monrovia, Liberia: Liberia’s biggest referral and teaching hospital, the John F. Kennedy Medical Center (JFKMC) has unveiled its strategic plan tailored to transforming the healthcare delivery across Liberia.
The cost of the plan is at USD $132 million.
The five-year plan comes with a blueprint, a bold, evidence-based roadmap developed through a participatory, multi-stakeholder process to transition Liberia’s premier hospital into a high-performing, patient-centered, multi-specialty, and innovation-led institution.
Launched under the theme, “Reimagining Excellence – A New Era for John F. Kennedy Medical Center,” with an eight-pillar framework aligned with the ARREST Agenda, the vision prioritizes the expansion of clinical services, major infrastructure upgrades, workforce development, and adoption of modern health information systems.
The document which focuses on reimagining excellence and transformation at JFK include:
1. Strengthen leadership and governance
2. Building a skilled, motivated JFKMC health workforce
3. Delivering high-quality health services
4. Ensuring essential medicines, medical supplies, blood and blood products, and diagnostic equipment
5. Modernize and expand health infrastructure
6. Strengthen medical education, training programs, and research
7. Implement a digital integrated health information system
8. Achieve financial sustainability
According to Dr. Linda Birch, Chief Executive Officer of JFK, the facility is committed to raising the standard of care in Liberia.
“This plan will strengthen our capacity to serve more patients with higher-quality, more reliable services while building a resilient system that can respond to future health challenges,” she explained. The framework advances JFKMC’s core functions of tertiary medical care, health workforce training, and research for health system improvement,” Dr. Birch is quoted.
The JFK CEO stressed that key initiatives captured within the working document includes, the construction of a new JFK Hospital, the extension of the left and right wings of the JFK Liberian-Japanese Maternity Center, and the construction of the JFK Trauma and Burn Center, a proposed 300-bed facility.
She explained that implementation of the agenda will be guided by detailed activity plans, defined timelines, institutional accountability structures, and robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, noting that a coordinated approach is essential to achieving the goals of the plan.
“With a population exceeding 5.5 million, Liberia’s health indicators remain among the lowest in the world, necessitating an urgent, integrated response,” Dr. Birch explained. “Ultimately, JFKMC aims for measurable improvements in access, quality, timeliness, efficiency, and patient-centered care, contributing to national goals for Universal Health Coverage, health security, and equitable development. Success will depend on strong leadership, political will, adequate funding, and sustained commitment from all stakeholders,” Dr. Birch noted.
As Liberia’s only tertiary health institution, JFKMC absorbs complex referrals from all 15 counties, yet it contends with severe infrastructure decay, workforce shortages, obsolete biomedical equipment, underfunding, and rising demand for specialized services.
The institution also faces emerging trends, including non-communicable diseases, re-emerging infections, and rapid digitization of healthcare.
Total cost for implementing this five-year plan is estimated at USD $132,873,330, with USD $9.5 million expected from the Government of Liberia’s Public Sector Investment Project (PSIP) over the next five years. This leaves a financing gap of USD $123,373,330 to be mobilized.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon reaffirmed the commitment of the Legislature to support the hospital through fiscal measures.
Koon described the hospital as a “national asset that must be protected, strengthened, and adequately supported,” noting that health is a political choice reflected in legislative actions.
“This strategic plan is not just a technical document; it is a social contract between JFKMC and the Liberian people,” he said.
He emphasized that the framework will succeed only with sustained political will and consistent implementation.
His remarks were contained in a speech read by his chief of office staff, Jerome Verdier.
Speaking on behalf of Health Minister, Dr. Louise M. Kpoto, was Dr. Lorraine C. Cooper. She described the launch as a milestone.
“John F. Kennedy remains our primary tertiary referral hospital,” Cooper said. “We must, as a nation, do better than we have done over the years.”
She reaffirmed the Ministry of Health’s support for expanding specialized services and strengthening research capacity.
Partners in attendance praised Dr. Birch and her management team for formulating a working tool that will transform healthcare delivery in Liberia. They assured JFKMC of their unwavering commitment to maintaining a multi-specialty medical center offering services that meet national, regional, continental, and global standards.
The development of the plan was led by the Department of Planning and Business Development following a careful review of previous strategic plans, which revealed only 13.6% implementation of the 2016–2020 plan.
“I came here in October 2024, and my first mandate from the CEO was to develop a strategic plan,” said Milton B.M. Varmah, Director of Planning and Business Development. “For the past four years, the institution had no strategic plan. Our review of the 2016–2020 plan showed that only 13.6% was implemented, leaving a huge gap. The new plan aims to improve services and bring the health environment up to standard,” Varmah noted.
JFK Medical Center Unveils Vision for State-of-the-Art Facility
