Monrovia – Liberian President George Weah on September 25 claimed in a campaign speech delivered in Zorzor, Lofa County that he has “built more hospitals than any President in the history of this [Liberia] country”.
The Claim
This is not the first time President Weah has made this claim. At a political rally on June 13 this year at his party headquarters in Congo Town, Monrovia, he claimed that his “government has built more hospitals than the government before” him. The President’s claim can be heard at the 1:50:32 in this video.
On August 15, 2022, the Liberian leader also (at the 1:21:54 seconds timestamp in this video) told community dwellers in Logan town, Montserrado County that his “administration has built more hospitals than any president before him”.
What We Found
To Fact-check this claim, we did a collection of several hospitals built by few of Liberia’s former presidents and those built by President Weah. In the verification process, we did not include health centers and clinics.
According to the California Department of Public Health, “a Clinic is a health care center where you receive routine preventative care when you are healthy or visit your Doctor/Primary Care Provider when you are sick. A clinic is smaller than a hospital where patients are less sick and do not stay overnight”.
We also found it difficult to get data on hospitals built by Samuel K. Doe and Charles G. Taylor because some of the County Health Officers (CHO) that we contacted could not gave us data on the various Health Facilities in their respective counties until the production of this fact-check report. We will update this report once we get response from the CHOs we contacted.
The Evidence
To begin, we established that former President William VS Tubman, the longest serving Liberian leader built five Hospitals including the Grand Bassa Government Hospital in Buchanan, Martha Tubman Memorial Hospital in Grand Gedeh County, E.S Grant Mental Health Hospital in Montserrado County, F. J. Grant Hospital in Sinoe County and the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Montserrado County.
Under former President William Tolbert’s administration, we found out that the Rally Time Hospital in Grand Kru County and the C. H. Rennie Hospital in Margibi County including many of the health centers in the counties were built.
Meanwhile, during the administration of Madam Ellen Johnson, the following hospitals were constructed: Jackson F. Doe Memorial Hospital in Nimba County, CB Dunbar Maternity Hospital in Bong County, Fish Town Referral Hospital, and the Pleebo Hospital.
However, during President George Weah’s administration, the 14th Military Hospital in Margibi County, Rivercess District Referral Hospital in Rivercess Country, and the Emirate Hospital in Gbarpolu County were constructed.
Conclusion
Based on our search, we conclude that the claim made by President Weah that his administration has built more hospitals in Liberia than any president before him is incorrect.
Former Presidents William V.S Tubman and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf built five and four hospitals respectively more than President George Manneh Weah who has built three hospitals.
Please note that we did not include health centers or clinics built by these leaders, because the claim is about “Hospitals”.
Local Voices Liberia, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, has implemented the iVerify Liberia system with the objective of strengthening capacities to address threats to information integrity, especially in view of the upcoming 2023 elections, to ensure all Liberian citizens have access to credible, reliable and verified information, everywhere and at all times.
This initiative is funded by Irish Aid, Embassy of Sweden in Monrovia, European Union Delegation in Liberia and the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund. The donors have no say in the production of this fact check report.
