Liberia's vice president and former first lady, Jewel Howard-Taylor, has been flown to Ghana to for medical treatment after developing “respiratory complications,” her office said in a statement.

Howard-Taylor flew out of Liberia on Tuesday following a four-day stay at a private medical facility in Monrovia, her press officer Solomon Ware told The Associated Press.

The Monrovia-based clinic recommended her transfer to a more advanced healthcare facility abroad after she had been stabilized, he said.

Ware rejected a Liberia News Agency statement linking the vice president’s ailment to COVID-19.

Liberia’s health sector has remained weak since the country's civil war ended 17 years ago. Government officials and those who can afford it routinely travel abroad for medical attention.

Howard-Taylor, 56, is an ex-wife of former jailed Liberian president Charles Taylor.

Since becoming vice president to ex-footballer President George Weah in 2018 under a coalition arrangement, she has often complained she’s not treated like the second in command.