JFK Hospital, Monrovia

The second worst place in Monrovia (after Monrovia Central Prison) is in my opinion JFK Hospital, which was built by the Americans during the 1960s, but was abandoned and looted repeatedly during the war. It is a massive building - four floors high with two wings on each floor, with a smaller two story maternity hospital adjacent. The main building is currently abandoned, and only the smaller maternity unit is now used (as a general hospital) - I visited a Liberian colleague there a couple of years ago, and it was extremely hot and full of mosquitoes (there were no nets on the windows or over the beds) - the kind of place where if you weren't sick when you went in, you probably would be by the time you went home. But hope is at hand in the form of Scotland's wealthiest lady, Ann Gloag, who is personally paying to renovate three floors of one wing of the main hospital, which increases the capacity by 300% and will provide hundreds of additional beds and even a couple of operating rooms. I visited the hospital today with one of her project managers who is staying on the ship. The renovated floors are fabulous - bright and airy, with nets at the windows and new electrics and lifts. What a wonderful gift for the Liberian people. Please pray for good medical staff and wise managers so that this valuable asset will remain operational for the foreseeable future. Olly

Inside the current facilities - hot, dark and full of mossies.

The current facilities from the outside.

After the looting of the main building.

The HUGE main building.