Bernice Dahn

Bernice T. Dahn is a Liberian physician, public health leader and academic administrator. She served as Deputy Minister of Health and Chief Medical Officer of Liberia between 2007 and 2015 and was appointed Minister of Health in June 2015, serving until early 2018. Since 2018 she has held senior leadership positions at the University of Liberia College of Health Sciences, including Vice President for Health Sciences. Her work has focused on rebuilding Liberia's health system after civil conflict and the Ebola epidemic, expanding community health services, and strengthening the health workforce.

Education Dahn earned a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Liberia. She later received a Master of Public Health in Health Services from the University of Washington in 2005. She took office during the recovery from the 2014–2016 Ebola virus epidemic. As minister she led reforms in infection prevention and control, restoration of routine health services, and implementation of the National Community Health Services Policy in 2016, which established a standardized Community Health Assistant program.

Dahn also oversaw the development of Liberia's first Health Workforce Program Strategy, designed to expand the number and capacity of health workers. She left the ministry in January 2018 following the end of Sirleaf's administration.

Academic leadership After leaving government, Dahn joined the University of Liberia College of Health Sciences. She became vice president for Health Sciences, where she has overseen reforms in academic programs, establishment of new schools including public health and midwifery, and strengthening of research and grant administration systems.

Publications Dahn B, Kerr L, Nuthulaganti T, Massaquoi M, Subah M, Yaman A, Plyler CM, Cancedda C, Marshall RE, Marsh RH. "Liberia's First Health Workforce Program Strategy: Reflections and Lessons Learned". Annals of Global Health. 2021;87(1):88. doi:10.5334/aogh.3242.