Strengthening Healthcare in Liberia

The Liberia Medicinal products and Health Supplements Regulatory Authority (LMHRA) recently received several pieces of critical testing equipment from the U.S. Agency For international Development (USAID) for its quality control laboratory, ensuring that all prescription drugs and health products entering Liberia meet stringent quality standards.

On May 13, Liberian President George Manneh Weah addressed a committal hearing in which USAID contributed over $300,000 worth of equipment, parts, and reference standards into its Promoting the Quality of Medicines Plus (PQM+) program.

Liberia's capacity to treat malaria, maternal and child health issues, and contraception needs is harmed by substandard and fraudulent medicines. The LMHRA's lab can determine the quality of medications and health goods on the Liberian industry using cutting-edge testing technology.

At the handover ceremony, Jessica Healey, Director of USAID's Office of Health, stated that the technology will allow Liberia to conduct its own product testing on medications and other health items, rather than sending samples to be tested in other nations. Compendial testing, which ensures that medications satisfy established pharmaceutical standards, will be more practical and overall cost in the LMHRA's own laboratory.

The LMHRA lab will be able to conduct proficiency testing and other quality audits thanks to increased testing capacity, making it suitable for certification by  the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

President Weah stated that health care for Liberians is a critical component of the government's Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD), emphasizing the importance of having a well-functioning quality control lab. "Having a system in place to inspect the quality of pharmaceutical agents on the Liberian industry is critical," he said. "My administration's commitment to a healthy nation remains steadfast."

Keturah Smith-Chineh, the LMHRA's Managing Director, praised USAID for the grant and the US government's support for the LMHRA since its inception. She explained that the lab is the bedrock and pillar of all processes, and that USAID and PQM+ have provided continual support in the form of pesticides, reagent, gear, education, and building capacity.

The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) implements USAID's PQM+ program, which offers technical advice in even more than 20 countries to ensure the quality of medications and health products. PQM+ works in Liberia to improve the capacity of the LMHRA to perform out regulatory tasks and assure the quality of clinical products in the country.

HPLC equipment, machines to perform a chemical method named Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), diverse laboratory equipment, specifications to help the assessment of tested medicines, and other laboratory supplies and consumables were among the items donated on May 13. Release to the media