It takes more than doctors and nurses to provide quality healthcare in a remote area. Operations Manager Momo Khani explains how his team, with support from Mission Aviation Fellowship, ensure services run smoothly.
In the Capital City of Maryland County Harper, Liberia, Operations Manager Momo Khani is at the forefront of ensuring that clinicians have the necessary logistics, power, water, and functional facilities to provide top-notch healthcare services.
Despite the challenging conditions and difficult access, Mr Khani and his team support healthcare services at the JJ Dossen Hospital, where Partners in Health help to maintain high standards.
“Our job is to provide a means for the clinicians to do their work in terms of providing logistics, power, water, places to stay, and ensuring that all the facilities are functional to support a good environment for patients and the doctors that we serve,” Mr Khani says.
“So certainly, in that position, I see myself as a go-between, and we serve to lubricate the entire vehicle that we are taking as a package, providing health services for hard-to-reach places. We do everything we can to reach those who are difficult to access. For instance, Harper, which is far off and difficult to reach.”
MAF flights from the Liberia’s capital Monrovia bring essential workers, medication and equipment to the hospital in Harper. Without the flights, the supply route would involve a long and unreliable road journey.
"Harper is a nice place; we call it the land of laughter and sunshine. In this environment, the community is nice, but access is an issue,” Mr Khani says.
“Getting into Harper and obtaining supplies are the main challenges that we face. That also applies to the cost of living. Everything takes weeks to get here, and it takes weeks to get resupplied.
MAF flights from the Liberia’s capital Monrovia bring essential workers, medication and equipment to the hospital in Harper. Without the flights, the supply route would involve a long and unreliable road journey.
"So being here is a challenge that you really need to prepare for mentally and physically. We do some pre-positioning even before the rains because during the rains, it’s always hard to reach.
‘’MAF is the only viable option we have in support of our work. They offer reliable flights that are essential for our clinicians in terms of safety and insurance.
“We’ve been relying on MAF for a long time and have built trust in their ability to run safe flights. Because of that, and the necessity to get critical supplies that cannot come by road, MAF is crucial. You cannot rely on road transport for longer periods, especially for temperature-sensitive supplies and vaccinations.”
JJ Dossen Hospital, working closely with Partners in Health is not just good by rural standards, it is regarded as one of the best hospitals in Liberia, even attracting patients from neighbouring countries.
“People come from the Ivory Coast and other neighbouring counties because of the air and medical services we provide,” Mr Khani says.
“We used to take patients to the Ivory Coast, crossing the Cavalla River, which was challenging in the absence of a commercial ferry. Sometimes we had to negotiate for ferry services. So, the option for flights makes it easier to do what we do on time and save lives.”