Liberian American educator Dr. John T. Wulu, Sr. has called on the Ministry of Health (MOH) to transition from paper-based and fragmented digital records to a unified Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, emphasizing that such a move would greatly improve patient care, planning, and decision-making across Liberia’s healthcare system.
Dr. Wulu stressed that data governance plays a crucial role in ensuring that health data are accurate, secure, accessible, and used ethically, noting that Liberia’s public sector constraints-including limited budgets, infrastructure, and workforce-require a governance approach tailored to the realities of public hospitals and clinics.
The U.S.-based educator delivered a presentation titled: “Data Governance for a Comprehensive Electronic Medical/Health Records (EMR) System in Liberia” at the invitation of Dr. Benedict B. Kolee during a recent event held in Congo Town, November 5, 2025.
In welcome remarks, Deputy Minister Malayah Tamba Chieyo expressed appreciation for the presenter’s willingness to attend on short notice and share valuable expertise with Ministry of Health officials and staff.
Closing the session, Assistant Minister Dr. Anthoney Fortune commended the presentation and invited the speaker to return to provide further guidance to the technical team on reviewing Liberia’s electronic medical records (EMR) systems—particularly in identifying and addressing potential gaps in their development and implementation.
Key Points from Dr. Wulu’s Presentation
Accuracy
“Accurate data ensures the quality of systems and business processes, enabling business requirements to be met with data integrity,” Dr. Wulu explained.
He added that accuracy is fundamental to achieving Return on Investment (ROI) for project investments, ensuring that data-driven decisions benefit the entire enterprise—not just individual departments or platforms—while maintaining a single version of the truth for data objects.
Consistency
“Data Governance and Data Management are critical sustainment processes, not one-time initiatives,” he emphasized. “Definitions, values, and standards should remain constant across the enterprise.”
Accountability
“Clear ownership of Data Governance and its processes must be defined,” Dr. Wulu stated.
“Adherence to Data Governance policies and standards should be a fundamental job requirement for all involved. There must be a single source of data for steady processes, informed business decision-making, and accurate reporting.”
Cost-Effectiveness & Risk-Benefit
According to Dr. Wulu, Data Governance should be driven by desired business outcomes, focusing on areas that would benefit most and addressing known pain points.
He urged the Ministry to conduct risk assessments, ensure data availability and accessibility for clinicians, administrators, and policymakers, and protect patient privacy while securing sensitive health information.
He also recommended efforts to: standardize data definitions, formats, and workflows across healthcare facilities, improve data quality and timeliness for reporting and public health surveillance enables safe data sharing and interoperability with national and regional systems.
Data Stewardship and Governance Model
Dr. Wulu further explained that Data Stewardship refers to “the management and oversight of an organization’s data assets to ensure business users have access to high-quality, consistent, and easily accessible data.”
