Buchanan, Grand Bassa County – At the maternity ward of Grand Bassa Hospital, new mothers are seen breastfeeding in chairs, some sitting upright with their babies in their laps, while others wait in pain for a bed that never comes. For many women in labor, the choice is between delivering on worn-out mattresses, bare floors, or in plastic chairs meant for visitors.
This is the reality at the county’s only referral hospital an institution meant to safeguard lives, now reduced to a symbol of neglect.
“This is painful and humiliating,” said a father whose wife gave birth at the facility last week. “Our mothers risk their lives here while our leaders remain silent.”
Lawmakers Under Fire
The images of women struggling without proper hospital beds have reignited anger toward Grand Bassa’s lawmakers, especially Senate Pro-Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, who represents the county at the highest levels of the Legislature.
Despite repeated complaints about the hospital’s collapse, none of the county’s five lawmakers two senators and three representatives have taken visible action to address the crisis.
“Senators and representatives from Bassa travel abroad for treatment with taxpayer money, but they cannot even provide beds for their own people here,” said a health worker at the hospital, visibly frustrated.
Hospital Strained Beyond Capacity
Hospital staff admit they are working under impossible conditions. Beds are broken, mattresses are torn, and supplies are critically short. “We try our best, but mothers deserve better than this. A woman should not have to give birth in a chair,” a doctor explained.
Grand Bassa Hospital serves thousands from Buchanan and surrounding districts, yet it has not seen meaningful upgrades in years. For many, it stands as a reminder of the gap between politicians’ promises and the lived reality of ordinary citizens.
Calls for Urgent Action
Civil society groups and residents are now demanding a legislative hearing and emergency funding to address the hospital’s dire state.
“Our Senate Pro-Temp is one of the most powerful lawmakers in Liberia,” said a youth leader in Buchanan. “If she cannot speak for her people’s health, then what hope do we have?”
As mothers continue to breastfeed in chairs and women give birth without beds, the silence of Grand Bassa’s lawmakers grows louder, raising serious questions about accountability, priorities, and the value placed on the lives of Liberia’s women.
