Liberian authorities at its largest hospital have announced they will bury 15 unclaimed bodies by Friday if they remain unclaimed by their families.
They are alleged to have died between March and June 2019 at the John F Kennedy Memorial Medical Center but have not been claimed by relatives, the hospital’s chief administrator Dr Jerry Brown speaking to the state radio on Wednesday said.
“We are planning to dispose of the bodies through a funeral home,” he said, adding that they may not all be dumped into a single grave.
He further said those who died between the end of June and August will not be part of the planned mass burial to give their relatives enough time to collect them.
Economic decline in Liberia has resulted into high cost of living with most Liberians now unable to afford burial expenses.
Dr Brown said,the hospital is unable to preserve bodies for a long period of time because of limited capacity and lack of proper refrigeration in the 46-year-old morgue.
He said the health facility now lacks many essential things and relies on local vendors for drugs supplies.
It now owes vendors $50,000 (£41,000) in payment for drugs supplied.
The John F Kennedy Memorial Medical Center was opened in the early 1970s and at the time was an iconic health Centre for West Africa.
