-Eyes Resilient Health System by 2030
By Jerromie S. Walters
The Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons (LCPS) officially held its 10th Annual General Scientific Meeting (AGSM) on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (E.J.S.) Ministerial Complex in Congo Town, Liberia. The meeting aligned with a two-day observance, scheduled to climax on Friday, September 18, 2026, with the convocation of 11 medical specialists in various disciplines.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Philderald Pratt, Secretary General of the LCPS, reflected on the significance of the 10th anniversary and the college’s journey over the past decade. He recalled that the inaugural AGSM was held at Monrovia City Hall. That event also featured the installation of the college’s first executive members and the induction of its Foundation Fellows.
Dr. Pratt noted that before 2012, such a scientific gathering was unheard of in Liberia, and professionals had to travel abroad to participate in similar conferences. He expressed great pleasure in seeing the college progress from its first meeting to its 10th, emphasizing that the purpose of the scientific meeting is to bring together doctors, researchers, and other professionals to share ideas and knowledge on emerging scientific topics and issues observed in hospitals and communities.
He added that this year’s event focuses on sustainability and equity to ensure comprehensive healthcare for Liberians by 2030, aligning with the Ministry of Health’s overall agenda. It includes panel discussions, poster presentations, and plenary sessions designed to secure commitments from leaders and improve services to beneficiaries.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Maxo Luma of Partners In Health Liberia centered his remarks on the conference theme, “Resilient, Equitable, and Sustainable Health Systems for Liberia 2030.” He congratulated the LCPS on reaching its 10th milestone and challenged attendees to think beyond individual programs, institutions, and crises to consider the kind of health system Liberia wants by 2030 and what must be done today to make that vision a reality.
Dr. Luma explained that this future will require more than resources alone, demanding leadership, partnership, and innovation that expands access, improves quality, strengthens accountability, and achieves better health outcomes for all Liberians. He framed his address around a journey from recovery to resilience and ultimately to sustainability, using Liberia’s own history as a case study.
Moreover, he described the 2014 Ebola outbreak as a predictable collision between an acute shock and decades of accumulated vulnerability, noting that when Partners in Health arrived in Liberia in 2014, there were approximately 45 doctors in the public health system serving close to 4.5 million people.
Dr. Luma elaborated on the distinction between recovery and resilience, stating that while recovery is about getting back up after a fall and saving lives, resilience is about remaining strong when the next challenge arises. He noted that a resilient system does not stop functioning during a crisis but absorbs the shock, adapts, learns, evolves, and continues serving people when they need it most.
He praised Liberia’s growing network of community health workers as a prime example of resilience, explaining that thousands of trained workers now identify threats early, connect communities to care, and absorb pressure before small problems become gigantic ones, making the community itself the first line of defense.
However, he warned that a health system cannot be truly resilient if it depends heavily on international or foreign aid, especially amid recent reductions in global health funding that have created difficulties for Liberia and many other countries. He emphasized that while such reductions create challenges, they also present opportunities to innovate, rethink traditional approaches, improve efficiency, strengthen local solutions, and maximize the impact of every investment.
The keynote speaker also stressed that sustainability must mean more than preserving projects and must instead focus on building systems, increasing domestic investment, training and equitably deploying health workers, and retaining Liberian health professionals where they belong.
He quoted a recent statement by President Boakai that “aid comes and goes, but what doesn’t go is our responsibility,” underscoring that the patient’s need does not disappear when a grant expires. Dr. Luma introduced the “Five S’s” framework utilized by Partners In Health, which includes Staff, Stuff, Space, Systems, and Social Support, as a proven model for building resilient health systems across 11 countries.
He explained that resilience is not built through any single investment but emerges when all five elements work together synergistically. He emphasized that strong systems require strong leadership, governance, information systems, financing mechanisms, planning processes, and accountability structures, increasingly supported by innovations such as electronic medical records, digital health platforms, telemedicine, and advanced analytics.
Addressing the issue of equity, Dr. Luma declared that a resilient health system for some is not a resilient health system, and a sustainable system that excludes vulnerable populations is not truly sustainable. He called for continued efforts to address disparities in access to care between urban and rural communities, improve the equitable distribution of healthcare workers, strengthen the welfare system, ensure consistent availability of medicines and supplies, and reduce financial barriers that prevent people from accessing care.
Furthermore, he paid particular attention to women, girls, children, people living with disabilities, and rural communities, urging that innovation must also advance equity rather than widen disparities, and that every innovation should ultimately be judged by its ability to improve health outcomes for those who have historically been left behind.
Dr. Luma concluded by stating that by 2030, success will not be measured only by the number of facilities installed or projects implemented, but by whether Liberia can withstand future shocks without reversing years of progress, whether healthcare remains available during emergencies, whether communities have access to basic human rights needs including healthcare, whether health professionals choose to serve, and whether the system can sustain itself despite changing external circumstances.
The scientific meeting for the 10th AGSM was organized around three core subthemes: Health System Strengthening and Financing; Health Workforce, Education, and Digital Health; and Emergency Preparedness, Climate Change, and One Health.
The agenda featured plenary sessions on whether Liberia is ready for the next epidemic, financing health for 2030, and approaching digital health and innovation without increasing inequity in healthcare. A panel discussion titled “Training the Physicians Liberia Needs: Transforming Postgraduate Medical Education for 2030” was also held featuring experts.
Additionally, the event included a Leadership Roundtable titled “Five Commitments for a Healthier Liberia 2030,” an action-oriented conversation to identify practical commitments for national health progress, featuring participants Dr. Catherine Cooper, Prof. Lawrence Sherman, Dr. Julius Gilayeneh, and Dr. Maxo Luma. The conference concluded with awards recognizing partners and contributors.
The Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons (LCPS) is Liberia’s premier postgraduate medical education institution, established by an Act of the National Legislature in 2012 and launched in 2013 to combat the country’s critical shortage of specialized medical doctors. As the flagship program for coordinating localized medical specialization, LCPS has trained 166 specialist doctors to date across multiple disciplines, reducing Liberia’s reliance on sending physicians overseas for advanced clinical training.
