Dr. James Kollie

Dr. James Kollie is one of Liberia's experienced general practitioners, based at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital (JFK) in Monrovia — the country's principal government referral hospital and one of the few facilities in Liberia offering a relatively broad range of specialist services. Over 16 years of clinical practice, Dr. Kollie has served Liberians through extraordinary public health challenges, including the devastating 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic and its prolonged aftermath which severely disrupted Liberia's already fragile health system. His resilience through those years — continuing to provide essential healthcare services in a highly dangerous environment — reflects his commitment to his patients and his profession. Today, Dr. Kollie's daily clinical work involves managing the high burden of tropical infectious diseases that affect Monrovia's largely urban population: malaria, typhoid fever, respiratory infections, and diarrhoeal diseases predominate, alongside a growing burden of HIV, hypertension, and diabetes. He is trained in Lassa fever recognition and case management protocols — critical competencies for any clinician practising in Liberia and the broader Mano River Union region. Dr. Kollie is actively involved in teaching Liberia's community health officers and physician assistants, contributing to the country's efforts to expand its frontline healthcare workforce.

Dr. Kollie completed his MD degree at the A.M. Dogliotti College of Medicine at the University of Liberia in Monrovia, the country's sole medical school. He subsequently obtained a Certificate in Tropical Medicine through a programme supported by the Liberia Institute for Biomedical Research (LIBR) and international partners. He holds a Diploma in Community Health and has participated in Ebola clinical management training conducted by WHO, MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières), and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the 2014–2016 epidemic response. He has attended continuing medical education through the LMDA and PEPFAR-supported training platforms.

Dr. Kollie's clinical expertise centres on the diagnosis and management of febrile illness in a Liberian context, where malaria must be differentiated from typhoid, bacterial sepsis, and in endemic-risk areas, Lassa fever. He is proficient in rapid malaria diagnostic testing and microscopy, oral and IV quinine and artemisinin-based combination therapy for uncomplicated and severe malaria, and the rehydration management of severe diarrhoeal illness. In primary care, he manages hypertension, initiates antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients, and screens for tuberculosis. He performs wound care, suturing of lacerations, and IV cannulation with fluid resuscitation, and provides basic antenatal monitoring for pregnant women attending JFK's outpatient department.

Dr. Kollie contributed clinical data to Liberia's post-Ebola health system recovery assessment led by the Ministry of Health and WHO. He participated in epidemiological surveillance activities during the Ebola epidemic and contributed to PEPFAR Liberia's HIV programme monitoring data. He has shared case reports at the LMDA annual scientific conference addressing the clinical overlap between malaria and bacterial sepsis in Liberian adult patients.

Dr. Kollie provides all consultations in English, Liberia's official language, making him accessible to international patients, NGO workers, diplomats, and members of the Liberian diaspora returning home. He provides travel health assessments, tropical disease screening, and vaccination catch-up for travellers to and from Liberia. For Liberians living in the United States, Europe, or West Africa who return home and need medical evaluation, he provides comprehensive health assessments and can facilitate referrals to Ghana or Senegal for specialist investigations unavailable in Liberia.

Dr. Kollie was recognised by the Liberian Ministry of Health for bravery and dedication to patient care during the 2014–2016 Ebola crisis — one of the most dangerous working environments faced by any clinician in recent medical history. He received a commendation from the Liberian Medical and Dental Association for sustained service to community health and for his contributions to expanding primary care access in Monrovia's underserved neighbourhoods.