Decisions on health care are made mostly at household level. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to develop simple messages to help pregnant women and mothers in taking care of their babies. Messages should also focus on good nutrition for mothers and their babies as well as the entire family. The Foundation will use already established and approved messages from the Health Education Division of the Ministry of Health for wider distribution and adherence. Messages will be used in town hall meetings and under the Palaver Huts in villages. These messages will also be used and explained to members of the Households by Community Health Workers until they become a way of life for child care in Liberia.

The Joseph N. Boakai Foundation’s Ambulance, brightly marked with the name of the Foundation, along with the telephone number for availability and easy access, will be operated throughout the day (24-7), including weekends, and holidays. Information about access to the Ambulance include:
1.) The Telephone number, widely circulated to Clinics and Hospitals.
2.) The Telephone number displayed on the Foundation’s website.
3.) The Telephone number, widely circulated to Clinics and Hospitals.

Besides the driver, the Ambulance will be furnished with medical equipment and a Nurse or Physician Assistant (PA) whenever the Ambulance is called to pick up a patient. Patients picked up will be taken to the nearest Hospital for Emergency service. Calls for the Ambulance service will be received from homes and clinics for referrals to the Hospital. The Ambulance staff will be responsible to answer calls and get the location of the patient. Use of the Ambulance requires the minimum charge for re-fueling the Ambulance to be charged per trip (about LRD 1,000 – LRD1,200) The Ambulance will have a logbook to indicate location and time of departures and arrivals. The Administrator for the Ambulance services will supervise the driver and fuel usage.

The Foundation will be responsible for the provision of these services: Purchase First Aid supplies for the office. Prepare a cubicle In the Foundation office, reserved for reading materials and health information. Provide TV setup for viewing regular behavioral changing health videos for adolescents and Youths, especially girls, with information about the biology of their body and how to care for themselves as well as nutritional information as this is the UN Decade of Nutrition. Refer any questions to the Foundation Doctor and a pool of Doctors who will be available and/or are already in Partnership with the Foundation. Refer the adolescents and other youth having health problems to the Clinics and Hospitals in the Partnership for follow-up.

Liberia is among the countries of the World with very high Maternal Mortality deaths and moderately high under five and neonatal mortality rates. The Ministry of Health has Policies and Guidelines for all services that it expects the County Health Teams (CHTs) to implement. To supplement these services, the Foundation in partnership with some Clinics and Hospitals will improve access to reproductive health, ensure quality care for pregnant women, and provide professional births as well as Caesarian Sections for complicated pregnancies. There will also be post-partum follow-ups. The Foundation will ensure that babies be well cared for and mothers will have counselors and support group to encourage exclusive breast-feeding programs for 6 months, followed by locally available healthy weaning foods. In addition, the Foundation will guarantee babies receive their vaccinations at the well-baby clinics, and when they are sick, the babies will also have access to quality health services. For these maternal and child health services, the Foundation will direct mothers and babies to Partnering Clinics and Hospitals, which include: Benson Hospital, Family life Hospital of Dr. John Mulbah, and Dr Teeser Utam’s Clinic.

The Honorable Joseph Nyuma Boakai had supported field surgical interventions to the Counties in the past. Now as Chairman, the Foundation will continue such services as well as scheduled provision of elective and emergency surgeries in Partner Hospitals. The surgeries will cover the young and middle ages mostly. The very elderly will be referred to the Teaching Hospital – John F. Kennedy Medical Center. The Surgical interventions will be professionally done with affordable pricing as used by others in the private sector. The Joseph N. Boakai Foundation will ensure accessibility and affordability for patients needing surgeries in collaboration with its Health Partners. Planned field surgeries will be undertaken to counties with hard –to-reach areas where such services are not available.