-Salutes Past Presidents for Sustaining Liberia–Germany Partnership
ZWEDRU, Grand Gedeh County — Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung on Thursday, January 19, dedicated the newly constructed Grand Gedeh County Hospital on the outskirts of Zwedru, hailing the facility as a long-awaited milestone in strengthening healthcare delivery across Liberia’s southeastern region.
The dedication ceremony drew senior government officials, lawmakers, traditional leaders, and development partners, including German Ambassador Jakob Haselhuber, Health Minister Louis Kpoto, Senator Thomas Yaya Nimely, members of the Grand Gedeh Legislative Caucus, County Superintendent Alex Grant, and former Superintendent Peter Solo, who secured the hospital site in 2015.
In his address, Vice President Koung underscored the hospital’s significance as a tangible outcome of decades of sustained bilateral cooperation between Liberia and Germany. He paid tribute to successive Liberian leaders whose stewardship preserved and deepened that partnership—beginning with President William R. Tolbert, under whose administration Liberia and the Federal Republic of Germany signed a major bilateral agreement in 1972. He also acknowledged Presidents Samuel K. Doe and Charles Taylor for maintaining diplomatic continuity; Interim President Gyude Bryant for re-engaging Germany during Liberia’s post-war recovery; President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for signing the 2015 health-systems strengthening agreement; and President George Weah, under whose leadership construction commenced in 2019.
The hospital stands as the flagship achievement of a €15 million Liberia–Germany Health Infrastructure Package signed in 2015, aimed at rebuilding health services in the southeast in the aftermath of the Ebola crisis. The initiative was financed through Germany’s development bank KfW and implemented by Welthungerhilfe. Beyond Grand Gedeh, the package 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.
Designed as a 160-bed secondary-level facility, the Grand Gedeh County Hospital is expected to serve more than 160,000 residents across the southeast. Constructed on 8,513.84 square meters, it features an emergency department, outpatient services, maternity ward, operating theatre, laboratory, neonatal unit, isolation spaces, pharmacy, and inpatient wards. Supporting infrastructure includes a water tower, generator house, incinerator, morgue, laundry unit, drainage and erosion-control systems, administrative offices, and public waiting areas—components intended to ensure safe, resilient, and continuous service delivery.
Local leaders described the dedication as a historic turning point, reflecting years of planning, inter-governmental collaboration, and a durable Liberia–Germany partnership. With the facility now operational, officials expressed optimism that access to quality healthcare in Grand Gedeh and neighboring counties will markedly improve, reinforcing national efforts to strengthen the health system and advance equitable service delivery nationwide.
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