IPNEWS: Vice President Jeremiah Koung on Thursday dedicated the newly constructed Grand Gedeh County Hospital on the outskirts of Zwedru City, describing the facility as a long‑awaited breakthrough for healthcare delivery in the southeast. The ceremony brought together senior officials and development partners, including German Ambassador Dr. Jakob Haselhuber, Health Minister Dr. Louis Kpoto, Senator Thomas Yaya Nimely, members of the Grand Gedeh Legislative Caucus, Superintendent Alex Grant, and former Superintendent Peter Solo, who secured the initial site in 2015.
In his remarks, VP Koung paid tribute to past Liberian leaders whose actions sustained Liberia’s development cooperation with Germany. He cited President William R. Tolbert, under whose leadership Liberia and the Federal Republic of Germany signed a major bilateral agreement in 1972; Presidents Samuel K. Doe and Charles Taylor for maintaining diplomatic continuity; Interim President Gyude Bryant, who recommitted Germany to Liberia’s post‑war recovery; President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, whose administration signed the 2015 health‑systems strengthening agreement; and President George M. Weah, under whose leadership construction began in 2019.
The hospital is the flagship outcome of a €15 million Liberia–Germany Health Infrastructure Package, signed in 2015 to rebuild health services in the southeast after the Ebola crisis. The funding, provided through KfW and implemented by Welthungerhilfe (WHH), also supported major upgrades in Sinoe and River Gee counties, including new clinics, maternal units, and the region’s only fully equipped isolation center in Fish Town.
The Grand Gedeh County Hospital is a 160‑bed secondary‑level facility serving more than 160,000 people across the southeast. Built on 8,513.84 square meters, it includes an emergency department, outpatient services, maternity ward, operating theatre, laboratory, neonatal unit, isolation spaces, pharmacy, and inpatient wards. Support systems include a water tower, generator house, incinerator, morgue, laundry unit, drainage and erosion‑control structures, administrative offices, and public waiting areas.
Local leaders described the dedication as a historic milestone—one that reflects years of planning, cross‑government collaboration, and sustained partnership between Liberia and Germany.
Meanwhile, Vice President Jeremiah Koung has credited the successful completion of the project to the continuity of government, highlighting the specific roles played by former presidents.
Vice President Koung praised past leaders for their roles in sustaining the international partnerships necessary for the project:
Credited for initiating the Liberia–Germany health infrastructure agreement in 2015, which secured the initial €15 million in funding for the project.
Recognized for continuing the development process during his administration, ensuring the project reached the stage where it could be finalized and dedicated.
Koung also extended appreciation to these former leaders for their past engagements that helped maintain active development partnerships in Liberia.
The modern 160-bed hospital is the largest and most advanced healthcare center in Grand Gedeh County.
It is expected to serve over 160,000 people, significantly reducing the need for patients in southeastern Liberia to travel to Tapita or Monrovia for advanced medical services.
The project was funded by Germany (through KfW) and implemented by the humanitarian organization Welthungerhilfe.
During his visit to the county, VP Koung also met with the family of the late former First Lady Nancy B. Doe to offer condolences. He used the occasion to call for reconciliation among Grand Gedeh leaders and emphasized that the people of Nimba and Grand Gedeh are “fundamentally one”.
