Liberia

Liberia is one of the poorest nations in the world that has been devoted by civil wars which disrupted and destroyed medical and educational systems. As such, the country experiences significant healthcare provider shortages and struggles to have enough faculty to support teaching and training. Over the past decade Liberia has been slowly rebuilding its infrastructure and medical education program only to be set back again by Ebola crisis in 2014-2016. Graduate medical education started in liberia only recently and initially did not include Family Medicine. With support of USAID PEER funding and incredible ELWA leadership, the first ever Family Medicine residency was established in liberia in 2017 and has just graduated its very first class of family physicians.

The fellow focus is on ward teaching, didactic teaching, quality improvement and research project mentorship and administrative and curricular support of the residency. They also provide supervision of umass trainees rotating in Liberia. Future opportunities involve educational,
programatic, and research activities and can be tailored to fellow’s strengths and interests.


Dr. Raulo Colon-Mulero, now a Global Health fellow, then a Family Medicine resident in the UMass Global Health Track conducting training on hypertension for community health workers in Dominican Republic.