Timothy Cleta, administrator of Curran Lutheran Hospital in Zorzor, Lofa County, was interviewed by Soka Moses on the current situation of the hospital. The following article is based on that interview.

During the past month, Mr. Cleta and a few members of his staff have made some visits to Curran, about 188 miles north of Monrovia , and surrounding towns around Zorzor. What Mr. Cleta found was the badly damaged remains of the first church-owned health institution in Liberia .

When rebels of the group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) stormed Zorzor in 2000, Curran Hospital closed down operations as staff, patients, and residents of Zorzor fled to save their own lives. Some of the people moved to towns in adjoining Bong County , while others traveled to neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone .

According to Mr. Cleta, Curran had been completely renovated to its prewar status before the LURD rebels first captured Zorzor in 2000. Mr. Cleta asserted that everything has now been destroyed. He stated that the corrugated zinc roofs of 14 of the buildings on the hospital compound have been removed by rebels and taken away to be sold; only seven that have asbestos roofs are still protected from the tropical rain.

Mr. Cleta said that the entire hospital was vandalized. No equipment or machine is left in the hospital or anywhere else in the compound. "In addition to hospital equipment, even the commodes, tubs, fixtures, and all other materials are gone," he lamented. In addition to the destruction done to the buildings, Mr. Cleta said that the drug warehouses and the four containers that were also used as warehouses were looted and burned down. "The only viable thing at Curran is complete bush," he said.

Asked about the essential nature of Curran Hospital , Mr. Cleta said that the location of Curran makes it very strategic. It offers humanitarian health care services not only to Liberians, but also to people from adjacent Guinea and Sierra Leone . Additionally, he explained that Curran is the only mission hospital that also served as the Government of Liberia's referral and teaching hospital in Lofa County, the largest of 15 political subdivisions in Liberia.

Curran also operated a nursing school that trained midwives, laboratory technicians and practical nurses.

Commenting on the whereabouts of Curran's staff, Mr. Cleta said that Curran is presently operating only a skeleton staff. The rest of the staff members were are assisting other NGOs working in Liberia , such as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). However, he said that these staff members are available to return to Curran upon request by the administration.

Mr. Cleta reported meeting only a few civilians in Zorzor and other towns he visited, but people are gradually returning. According to him, the health of these people is poor. He said, "there are no hand pumps or purified drinking water wells in the area. Also there are no health facilities functioning there yet. Skin diseases and other common illnesses like malaria are major health problems." Mr. Cleta noted that very few houses remain standing. In fact, in one town, he reported seeing only one house in good condition and inhabited.

When Mr. Cleta was asked to outline the programs Curran is running now, he explained that Curran currently operates a mobile clinic team. He said this team has been providing integrated health services to thousands of displaced persons around Bong County . He said these services include immunization, maternal and child health care, screening and treating common health conditions such as malaria, pneumonia, worms, scabies, etc., and providing mass treatment for the prevention of river blindness. "In addition," he said, "the team is also involved with community health education, such as HIV/AIDS awareness, food and water sanitation and personal hygiene." Because the hospital compound has been destroyed, Curran's mobile team has been referring seriously ill patients to the Phebe field hospital at Salala, or to hospitals in Monrovia .

However, Mr. Cleta pointed out that operating a mobile clinic is very expensive, and finding funding for this kind of operation is tough. He stated that assistance has been rendered by the ELCA, the German friends of Curran, and Action by Churches Together (ACT). "UNICEF and WHO have recently promised to assist with drugs, vaccines and other logistics, but have not done so yet," he added.

Addressing the issue of reconstruction of Curran Lutheran Hospital , he stated that plans for renovation rest solely with the LCL. However, his priority for now is to maintain the mobile team actively functioning until Curran can resume functioning at its former Zorzor base compound. He said continuous provision of health services to returnees is very urgent.

Mr. Cleta emphasized that "because of security concerns no humanitarian organization is rendering assistance to people in Lofa now, only the Curran mobile team has been going there every other week to carry on immunizations."

Security in Lofa County is still in the hands of LURD rebels, because the United Nations peacekeepers have not deployed in that area. Mr. Cleta said that security in the entire area is very fragile, and he added that there was evidence of forced labor and gross human rights abuse during his visits.

Summarizing, Mr. Cleta said that the plan for the near future is to "go back, stay permanently, and begin operations from makeshift structures until renovation is effected." He expressed his appreciation to humanitarian groups currently offering assistance to Curran, and made an appeal that this assistance be augmented. If the return to the Zorzor compound is to be realized, he said, there is a tremendous need for drugs, equipment and funds with which to compensate the staff.

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