By: Ben TC Brooks
River Gee County | Feb. 6, 2026 | A health facility construction project valued at US$66,000, initiated by the Community Forestry Development Committee – CFDC in Parken, Deabo Chiefdom, electoral district 3, River Gee County, has remained incomplete for more than 14 years, leaving thousands of residents without access to basic healthcare.
The project dates back to 2012, following community engagements held in 2011, when the CFDC expressed interest in operating within the local forest and disclosed community benefits totaling US$66,000.
Residents were asked to identify a priority development project, and the community unanimously selected the construction of a health facility.
According to Parraville Township Commissioner within the Deabo Chiefdom, G. Nathaniel Chuewah, hopes were high that the long-standing healthcare challenges in the area would finally be addressed. However, those expectations were later dashed.
Commissioner Chuewah told our reporter that instead of a full-scale health facility, the CFDC constructed only a small structure described as a “health post.”
He said the justification provided was that Tuobo Gbarweliken already had a health facility, despite the significant distance between that town and Deabo and its surrounding chiefdoms.
The Community Forestry Development Committees CFDCs in Liberia are community-elected bodies representing forest-adjacent communities in negotiating social agreements and managing funds 30% of land rental fees from commercial logging companies.
They are directly working under the National Union of Community Forestry Development Committees – NUCFDCs to improve livelihoods and ensure sustainable, equitable benefits, CFDCs facilitate local development projects across 23 areas in 11 counties, though they face capacity and transparency challenges.
However, Parraville Township Commissioner Chuwah emphasized that the affected region includes Deabo, Geetu, and Kaiyaibo Chiefdoms, encompassing more than eleven towns, none of which has access to adequate healthcare services.
In Deabo Chiefdom, towns such as Saykliken, Youwroken, Parken, and Tugbaken remain without clinics.
In Geetu Chiefdom, Yargbeken, Geeplaken, Tuowoloken, Partarken, and Saykliken face similar conditions.
Meanwhile, Kaiyaibo Chiefdom, including Wartay and Nyangba Towns, also lacks any functional health facility.
As a result, residents are often forced to transport sick individuals, especially pregnant women, over long distances using hammocks to reach the nearest medical center.
“Many women have died on the way or in our hands because help was too far,” Commissioner Chuwah lamented. “We are exhausted from this suffering.
We are appealing to the government to see reason and build a health facility for us. We are begging.”
The prolonged delay has heightened frustration among residents, who say the unfinished project reflects years of neglect and broken promises.
As of the time of filing this report, heads of the CFDC of River Gee and county health authorities have not issued any official statement regarding plans to address the healthcare needs of Deabo Chiefdom and its neighboring communities.
