(Congo Town, Monrovia, Liberia, December 10, 2021) As part of partnership with the Government of Liberia and the Ministry of Health for the provision of quality healthcare Services delivery in Liberia, the World Health Organization (WHO) has made delivery of assorted medical supplies to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Congo Town

The mix medical supplies included 5pks (150 test kits) of Syphills kits, 4pks of Sypills Screen Confirm and Assay, 3pks of contact activated lancet, 10,285 cans (2,077,000 tablets), 14 kits of Cholera Investigation complete kit, 1 kit of Cholera laboratory kit, 200 pcs of Absolute alcohol (ethanol), 2,124 pcs of chloride and 1 pc of chlorine.

Other items donated are: 15,000 kits of COVID-19 AG Test kit 20 boxes X 30 pks X 25 kits, 6 pcs of Gene Xpress 6 color module, 120pks of Xpert Xpress SARS-COV2   4boxes X 30pks, 11kits of Nuclic Extraction kit, 10pks of Disposable Virus sampling kit (100 set), 55pcs of DNA Detection kit, 4kits QlAamp virus RNA Mini kits (250), 64pcs of Oxygen regulator, 1pc of Lenovo thinkpad laptop, among other things.

Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic last year, WHO has made earlier donation of PPEs and other essential medical supplies to the Ministry in order to further heighten fight against the deadly coronavirus pandemic and other diseases.

Receiving the donation on behalf of the government and people of Liberia, Health Minister Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah acknowledged the numerous contributions made by WHO, describing it as a milestone in the Country’s health sector.

“We appreciated the last gift you sent to us and it was to continue the fight against COVID-19. We are happy that you are able to provide all of these other materials to us. Everything that have been received here today will be used for its intended purpose—to protect the healthcare workers and to fight this virus,” she said during the donation.

Presenting the donation was WHO Country Representative to Liberia, Dr. Peter Clement: “this is actually meant to increase drugs and other medical supplies at various health facilities across the country.”

He used the occasion to reassured WHO’s commitment to the Liberian government for the provision of quality healthcare to all.

Signed: ________________________________

           Felecia Gbesioh

           Director of Communication, MOH   

A conglomeration of health practitioners from the Ministry of Health including a representative from Partner In Health has returned from Sierra Leone, following their intervention into the catastrophic injuries of several persons, who were involved into explosion of gas tanker.

Earlier, on Friday, November 12, 2021, a team of Health Practitioners from the Ministry departed the country to buttress doctors and nurses of Sierra Leone’s efforts amid an explosion of gas tanker, where nearly 115 people lost their lives and several persons injured.

The explosion is believed to have happened at a junction outside the busy Choithram Supermarket in the densely populated Wellington suburb in the east of the city, last month.

Sierra Leone National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) said the vehicles collided when the tanker was entering a nearby filling station to discharge its fuel.

However, given the situation, the Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Health (MOH) dispatched a team of health practitioners who— upon arrival—provided basic healthcare interventions including mentorship for Community Health Workers (CHWs) on identification of infected wounds, discovering of  patients for prompt referral, and development policy and guidelines on burn management, Infection Prevention Control  (IPC), and Antimicrobia.

“We were joined by other colleagues from around the world, including Italy, Senegal, Germany, France, the United States; WHO, CDC, etc. to help the people and government of Sierra Leone,” Patience C. Tokpah explained to Health Hour, a health program presented by the Ministry’s Communication Unit on ELBC.

Several victims who were injured have recovered as a result of mechanisms instituted by the Liberian team: “Firstly, I am proud to represent my country. Most importantly, the team from Liberia did extremely well because of the level of seriousness and our methods of mitigation used to treat those patients. We were able to provide mentorship with the different mechanism we took along. This approach helped patients recovered.

However, the Liberian professionals also helped to train their Sierra Leone counterparts in case and disaster management: “We couldn’t keep the ideas onto us, so we were able to train some health workers who were well prepared to take over from us”.

Prior to the departure of the Liberia’s team, a Mano River Union Regional health organization was established for the sole purpose of enhancing efforts in the fight against disaster in the region, and regional IPC Protocols were developed.

Madam Diana Sarteh, Team Lead and Deputy Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer; Dr. Sterman Touissant, Co-Lead, a Surgeon and Clinical Director of Partners In Health; Amos B. Richards, PA; Kathy Gray, RN; Linda Parker, RN; Patience Cooper Tokpah, Deputy Director for County Health Services; Veraus B. Topor, RN; Elizabeth Tamba, RN; Geimeh G. Konneh, PA; Finda Kotio, RN; and Josephine Kermon, RN; were those part of the rescued mission to Sierra Leone.

Signed: ____________________________________

            Felecia Gbesioh

            Director of Communications, MOH/RL