MONROVIA, Liberia — Liberia’s Ministry of Health has begun a three-day curriculum-development workshop intended to lay the academic foundation for the country’s first Bachelor of Science (BSc) program in physiotherapy. The proposed program is aimed at building local capacity to provide rehabilitation services for people recovering from injuries, living with disabilities and managing conditions that require physical rehabilitation.
The workshop opened on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, through the Ministry’s Non-communicable Diseases and Injuries (NCDI) Unit. It is being conducted in collaboration with World Physiotherapy, World Hope International and the University of Liberia’s College of Health Sciences. The three-day exercise continues on November 12 and 13 at D’Calabash in Monrovia, according to the Ministry of Health.
What the curriculum workshop is designed to achieve
Participants are working on the proposed program’s mission and vision, graduate profile, competency framework and learning outcomes. These elements are intended to define the knowledge, practical skills and professional standards expected of graduates.
The Ministry said discussions are also examining Liberia’s rehabilitation priorities, including the needs of rural communities, shortages in the health workforce and the responsibilities physiotherapists should perform in hospitals, community health facilities and other care settings.
Mrs. Jamesetta G. Smith, Director of the NCDI Unit, encouraged participants to consider both international standards and the practical needs of Liberia’s health system. Discussions on rehabilitation needs and professional responsibilities were facilitated by Nancy M. Kanneh Saydee, the unit’s Rehabilitation, Injuries and Assistive Technology Coordinator.
Dr. Wahdae-mai Harmon-Gray, Director of the University of Liberia’s School of Public Health, said the exercise is expected to produce a curriculum framework to guide the training of physiotherapists for work across hospitals, community health facilities and other health institutions.
Regional expertise and earlier consultations
The workshop is being led by an international consultant physiotherapist and professor from Rwanda, with technical support from faculty members of the University of Liberia’s College of Health Sciences, physiotherapists from the Monrovia Rehabilitation Center, Ghana and Sierra Leone, and representatives of World Physiotherapy. Practitioners from Sierra Leone are sharing lessons from the development of their country’s physiotherapy training program.
The Ministry said the current curriculum exercise follows four earlier stakeholder working sessions. Those consultations involved teaching hospitals, the World Health Organization, the Liberia Medical and Dental Council, the Liberia Nursing and Midwifery Board, the National Commission on Disabilities, development partners and relevant units within the Ministry of Health.
The work also follows the Ministry’s August 17, 2026 technical review of draft national physiotherapy standards, including proposed standards of practice, scope of practice and professional definitions. An earlier stakeholder workshop on establishing physiotherapy education was held in October 2025.
A proposed program, not yet an operating degree course
The Ministry describes the BSc program as a proposal under development. The November 11 announcement does not specify a final approval or accreditation date, when admissions could begin, the number of students to be enrolled, tuition arrangements or the program’s financing. Those details will be important as the curriculum moves from design to formal establishment and implementation.
If established and adequately resourced, the program could create a local pathway for training professional physiotherapists and help expand access to rehabilitation services nationwide. The Ministry says the initiative is intended to strengthen care for people with disabilities, patients recovering from injuries and people living with non-communicable diseases or other conditions requiring rehabilitation.
For the proposed program to translate into wider access, the next steps will include completing and validating the curriculum, securing the necessary academic and professional approvals, preparing qualified faculty and clinical placements, and ensuring sustainable funding. The Ministry’s announcement did not provide a timetable for those steps.
HeartTalk Network verification note: This report is based primarily on the Ministry of Health’s November 11, 2026 announcement. Earlier Ministry updates are cited for the history of the physiotherapy education and standards work. The BSc program is described as proposed; this article does not present it as an already accredited or operating degree course.
Sources
- Ministry of Health — “MOH Develops Physiotherapy Curriculum to Establish Liberia’s First Bachelor’s Degree Program,” November 11, 2026.
- Ministry of Health — “MOH Reviews National Physiotherapy Standards to Strengthen Rehabilitation Services,” August 17, 2026.
- Ministry of Health — “MOH Engages Stakeholders on Establishing Physiotherapy Education in Liberia,” October 23, 2025.
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