THERE IS A NEED TO PANIC, IF DRASTIC CHANGES ARE NOT MADE AT THE TOP OF LIBERIAS HEALTH MINISTRY AND EDUCATION MINISTRY.... Many nights I ponder if we (Liberia) really lack people who can effectuate change, or are we just stuck in the past? I wonder if we were putting the sole interest of Liberia first, and not trying so hard to reward our friends/families, how far will Liberia be development wise? If we had our priorities straight, will that resolve some of our many problems? I think if we change our mindset and approach, we can address these questions effectively. We have seen how Ebola has exposed not only a broken healthcare system, but a no system. We have talked about the importance of building a healthcare system/infrastructure that actually provide care in these times such as the unprecedented Ebola outbreak; but I am afraid that we will mess-up and miss-out on an opportunity to get it right if we only focus on building a modern healthcare system without changing the old leadership at the health ministry!!! Allow me to make sense. How do we strive to build a modern healthcare system, one that reflects what care looks like today, when we have a Health Minister who went to medical school decades ago? His recommendation (s) to the government in relation to what a robust healthcare system depicts matters. Are medical practices/doctrines the same as they were let say 50-years ago? I doubt they are. We need a health Minister who adequately understands what a 21st century healthcare infrastructure constitute to be successful from all layers today. Today, the way care is given in Liberia is quite different from any other country I have been blessed to have visited. From the level of professionalism to the coordination between hospitals, to the lack of respect for nurses and patients alike. If it is paramount that we change our healthcare system, it is as paramount that we change the leaders at the helm of said department; with a clear vision of what change looks like to be successful today, not 50-years ago. The same goes for our education sector. We sit on social media and talk about educational reform, but many of us dont understand what educational reform means today. It means a curriculum that encourages economy growth and innovation. It means investment in areas needed to compete in todays economy. Why dont we have an Education Minister who understands that investing in TECHNOLOGY is a great investment today? I go to Liberia and during some of our educational conferences, I see young girls and guys with the Samsung Galaxy and other high tech devices, but only used them to make calls, send text, and come on Facebook. But I dont blame them because we have failed from the top to educate our future leaders about the power of those devices and how much can be done if use effectively. But what better do we expect from the top, when they too are limited in these areas? In America, there is a fine reason why there is a age for retirement. Because at a certain age, productivity declines significantly. How does it help the productive interest of Liberia to have a 75 year-old man/woman heading a ministry needed to survive in a 21st century world? Do you get it? I dont. If we only change the system, and not those who ran the old system, expect old results in a new system. We should panic indeed.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 01:04:51 +0000