MOH, Partners Conclude Five-day Training On “Mobilizing Communities for Reproductive Health and Family Planning”

(April 29, 2022, Paynesville City, Liberia)—A five-day long regional training on communities’ mobilization for reproductive health and family planning has come to end at the Kendeja Hotel, Paynesville City, outskirt of Monrovia.

The training, which started today, April 25 -29,2022, was organized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Breakthrough Action-Liberia. It trooped participants from several countries around the world, as African participants were in their numbers. Liberia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Malawi, USA, etc are countries participants were selected from.

Firmly grounded in proven practices, Breakthrough ACTION has been working in partnership with the Liberian government through the Ministry of Health, civil society, and communities in twelve counties across Liberia to implement creative and sustainable SBC programming, nurture SBC champions, mainstream new techniques and technologies, and advocate strategic and sustained investment in SBC.

“To the facilitators, thanks for selecting and willing to come to Liberia. Now, to our participants, thanks for accepting the training. And to the Breakthrough ACTION team, it’s actually exciting: we look forward to building on this, especially with the government of Liberia”, Dr. Saratu Olabode-Ojo, Chief of Party, Breakthrough Action-Liberia, expressed.

However, Hon. Joyce D Sherman, Assistant Minister for Preventive Services at the Ministry of Health, has lauded USAID and Breakthrough ACTION for their continuous interventions and at the same time called on participants to make maximal use of what were taught to transform their respective countries’ health sectors for the good of the locals.

“As you have gotten this knowledge, please use it to help transformed the communities in your respective locals. We want to thanks Breakthrough Actions for the initiative”, Minister Sherman Lauds.  

The five-day training exercise focused on strengthening participant’s capacities to carry out Community Mobilization for Reproductive Health and family planning, using the adapted Community Action Cycle (CAC).

Wilson Gaye, Co-Facilitator and Employee of the Ministry of Health, said he expects trainees to apply knowledge gained from the training, especially in the scope of social and behaviour change communication (SBCC); social and behavior change (SBC); Community Mobilization (CM) and how they interrelate to each other; assess and strengthen community capacity to identify and prioritize reproductive health (RH)/ family planning (FP) issues, plan and implement effective community activities to address these issues; articulate their feelings, values and attitudes about gender and how personal perspectives of gender affects their work with communities; monitor community mobilization process, outcomes, and learning across communities; and plan how the new skills and knowledge will be applied upon return to their respective countries.

“Our expectation here is that whatever we learned from this training should be applied so the community can be the beneficiary”, Mr. Gaye expressed.

Hence, Adeniyi Olalekan Ekisola, a Nigerian participant, described the training as “strategies to building partnership between communities and the health system”.

In furtherance, participants assembled a Community Action Group (CAG) to work on key FP/RH issues that would describe modem approaches and tools to explore and prioritize SBC determinants of RH/FP issues, and they identified, through session discussion and presentations, a community behaviour that are easier or harder to change.

Finally, at the end of the training, participants defined process and tools for supportive supervision, monitoring and reporting of community mobilization initiatives, identified the areas of improvement for the workshop, and annex commitment to use their new skills to mobilize communities in their respective countries.

Their interventions will harness the demonstrated power of communication—from mass media to community outreach to user-driven social media campaigns—to inspire long-lasting change, while also taking advantage of innovative approaches from marketing science, behavioral economics, and human-centered design.They were certificated for their participation.

Signed: ___________________________

            Felecia Gbesioh

            Director of Communications, MoH/RL

MOH, Partners Celebrate African Vaccination Week 2022

The Ministry of Health (MOH) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners has joined other African countries to celebrate and launched the African Vaccination Week 2022 in Liberia.

The African Vaccination Week is an annual event that is marked in the last week of April; it is also being held in conjunction with World Immunizations week. In 1974, WHO created the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), a worldwide effort mobilized to help countries increase immunization coverage of basic childhood vaccines—diphtheria, measles, pertussis, polio, tetanus, and tuberculosis—using the third dose of diphtheria, tetanus.

Speaking at the event in Monrovia, Dr. Musu Duworkor, WHO Family Planning/SRHR Focal Point-Liberia, said the purpose of the African Vaccination Week is to provide the opportunity to showcase the importance of vaccines “in our lives”, showing how to protect the humanity of all ages. “So vaccination is not for babies along.” However, the African Vaccination Week 2022 is been celebrated under the theme: “Long Life for All.”

Dr. Musu Duworkor, WHO Family Planning/SRHR Focal Point-Liberia

“The 2022 theme “long life for all” clearly demonstrates this goal and it portrays the lifesaving potential vaccines for everyone everywhere,” she added. Dr. Duworkor, further indicated that this indicates the universality of vaccination across the globe. She however acknowledged that there are mixed opportunities to get everyone everywhere vaccinated all of the time, for example, the “COVID-19 vaccination coverage is about 58% up to date.” In Africa Dr. Duworkor said, the COVID-19 vaccination average is about 18.7% and for Liberia “we have been progressing and we are more the African average and Liberia has now achieved more than 44%.” Henceforth the African Vaccination Week is essential to the advocacy and drives to promote the universality of vaccination for everyone everywhere.

However, the African Vaccination Week 2022 kick-off from 24-30 of April, today’s event however, brought together development partners, and health professionals including baby mothers from different communities in Monrovia.

Liberia is celebrating African Vaccination Week 2022 with vaccination services to keep children healthy. The services according to health authorities will be provided in all 15 Counties at Clinics, Hospitals, and designated outreach sites.

Adolphus Clark, Program Manager, Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in Liberia, informed the public that as a people and country, “it is important to appreciate from whence we have come from and where we are today.” Mr. Clark recalled that the history of immunization in Liberia is dated back to 1973, and Liberia was notified by the WHO in 1974 to establish what is  now called the “Expanded Program on Immunization” he clarified that Liberia at the time didn’t do too well, “it took us 4years to achieve and so one of the reasons why we could not introduce or launch this the program was due to the lack of proper infrastructure in place to ensure that all health facilities were equipped to have the storage capacity for storing our vaccines.”

According to him, Liberia needed to train human resources for health, “I mean people needed to be trained on how to administer vaccines and how to handle it. When the country officially launched the Immunization program in 1978, the Ministry at the time was targeting many diseases including measles, pertussis, tetanus, and tuberculosis among others. It was renamed as Universal Immunization Program in 1985 when its reach was expanded beyond urban areas.


Mr. Clark has disclosed that amid the outbreak of measles in the communities across Montserrado

Meanwhile, Mr. Clark has disclosed that amid the outbreak of measles in the communities across Montserrado, there are ongoing efforts to do a national response in all of the 15 counties beginning May 2, 2022. During this period the Ministry of Health is expected to vaccinate about 2million persons, we have confidence in our team,” said Mr. Clark.

At the same time, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, said in a special message that this year’s theme, “Long Life for All”, highlights the life-saving potential of vaccines for everyone, everywhere. Yet, in Africa, tens of millions of people are still missing out on some, or all, their scheduled immunizations against diseases that have long been eradicated by vaccines.

Delivering a special message in commemoration of the (AVW), Dr. Moeti, disclosed that more than a year into the COVID-19 global vaccine rollout, Africa is benefiting – if later than the rest of the world – from the speedy, efficient development of vaccines to curb the virus. There are currently 10 COVID-19 vaccines available through the COVAX Facility, with more in the research and development pipeline.

According to her, although 480 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Africa to date, making it the biggest vaccine rollout in the history of the continent, only 18.7% of the African population is fully vaccinated – lagging woefully behind the global average of 58%.

Dr. Moeti: “WHO, together with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, World Bank, the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has identified 20 priority countries in the WHO African Region for intensified support? Multi-partner country support teams are currently on the ground helping countries with technical and financial resources to ramp up overall and high-priority group COVID-19 vaccination coverage.”

As we work to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination efforts, it is critical that we don’t ignore the urgent need to also strengthen routine immunization efforts. Since 2020, routine immunization has been negatively impacted by COVID-19 containment measures, leading to tens of millions of infants in Africa missing out on essential childhood vaccinations. These include the Diphtheria, Tetanus toxoid, and Pertussis (whooping cough)-containing vaccine, as well as the measles vaccine.

Earlier this year, she noted that a case of wild poliovirus type 1 was recorded in Malawi. This vaccine-preventable disease had been eliminated from the African Region since August 2020. “I commend the Government of Malawi for moving swiftly to contain the outbreak, quickly vaccinating 2.7 million children younger than five against the disease.” However, the incident is a timely reminder that routine vaccinations should be a non-negotiable on our continent.

We have also seen some good examples of best practices, with routine immunization integrated with COVID-19 vaccination. In response to the Yellow Fever outbreak in late 2021, for instance, mobile vaccination teams in Ghana carried Yellow Fever vaccines along with COVID-19 vaccines, vaccinating all eligible people against both. Nigeria recently launched the optimized SCALES 2.0 strategy, which will integrate routine childhood immunization with COVID-19 vaccination at its fixed and mobile vaccination sites.

She urged all countries to ramp up routine immunization and COVID-19 vaccination efforts concurrently, allocating the necessary resources. Maintaining routine immunization services, despite the shift of resources to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in the past two years, is more cost-effective, and will leader to a longer life for all.  

Signed:_____________________________

            Felecia Gbesioh

           Director of Communications MoH/RL

CIRCULAR TO ALL MINISTRIES & AGENCIES ON FINANCIAL REPORTS FOR THE SPECIAL FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021

Dear All:

Please be informed that the Annual Financial Statements for FY’2021 (Special Budget) and Quarter I of the current Fiscal Year 2022 are overdue.

The Comptroller & Accountant General through this media request all heads of spending entities to submit their Financial Statements for the Special Budget Year (July 1 – December 31, 2021 and the First Quarter financial statements for FY2022 as required by law.

Section I 9 of the Public Financial Management Act (PFM ACT 2019) states: “There shall be prepared by each head of government agency and transmitted to the Audit General, the Minister and the Comptroller General in respect of each quarter commencing from the beginning of the fiscal year, the accountant of all public funds under his/her control.

In view of the above, all spending entities are reminded to submit their financial statements on or before Friday, April 29, 2022.

Please note that failure to adhere to this circular, punitive measures as enshrined in the revised Public Financial Management Act and PFM regulations will be taken.

Signed: Janga A. Kowo                          Approved: Hon.Samuel D. Tweah, Jr.

Comptroller & Accountant General                                 Minister                                                                                                                      

Atty. Janga A. Kowo, LLB MBA

Comptroller and Accountant General

Republic of Liberia

Ministry of Finance and Development Planning

Tel: +231886537952

        +231770810011

MoH, Partners Handover Medical Supplies to Worhn Clinic

The provision of essential commodities which has enhanced access to quality healthcare service delivery at various health facilities across the nation that contributes to the reduction in deaths of newborn and children as well as the population in general, has been so passionate and dedicated commitment by Liberia’s Health Minister, Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah.

In supra, the Minister joined Chinese envoy credited near Monrovia along with UNICEF Chief of Party to Liberia, to donate assorted medical supplies to Worhn Clinic in Margibi County.

60 IEHK2017, kit, suppl, 1c-cold chain medicine; 50 obstetric, surgical kit, suppl, 2-equipment; 49 obstritic, surgical kit, suppl, 1-drugs; midwifery kit—equipment, 2; 60 Cardiotocograp (CTG monitor), normal and twins Fetal Heart Rate (FHR) AND Uterine contraction (UC) detection; 60 resuscitation kit, basic (adult, neonate and child); 4 scanner, ultrasound, mobile, w/access; 60 Midwifery kit, 1-drugs; 60 resuscitation platform; and 8, 053 ready to use therapeutic food (RUTF) presented to the County Health Team of Margibi to reduce challenges of stock out of essential lifesaving commodities, thereby enabling health service providers to provide uninterrupted services.

The PAPD represents the highest level of government commitment to investing in and driving socio-economic development in the country.  Additionally, the interventions on neonatal health are aligned to the Liberia Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) 2019-2023. The main strategic focus and priority of the ENAP is to improve the health of neonates and to ensure availability and accessibility of this services in public health facilities.

The care of children with SAM is aligned to the government’s National Nutrition Policy (NNP) as well as the UNICEF Global Nutrition Strategy.

Signed:_____________________________

            Felecia Gbesioh

           Director of Communications MoH/RL

MOH Hosts Regional Training On “Mobilizing Communities for Reproductive Health and Family Planning”

(April 25, 2022, Paynesville City, Liberia)—The Ministry of Health is hosting a five-day regional training on “Mobilizing Communities for Reproductive Health and Family Planning”. It is being held at the Kendeja Hotel, Paynesville City, outskirt of Monrovia.

The training, which started today, April 25 -29,2022, is organized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Breakthrough Action-Liberia.

Firmly grounded in proven practices, Breakthrough ACTION has been working in partnership with the Liberian government through the Ministry of Health, civil society, and communities in twelve counties across Liberia to implement creative and sustainable SBC programming, nurture SBC champions, mainstream new techniques and technologies, and advocate strategic and sustained investment in SBC.

“Breakthrough ACTION is a cooperative agreement funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to lead our SBC programming in Liberia. Breakthrough ACTION is a partnership led by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs in collaboration with Save the Children, etc”, Dr. Saratu Olabode-Ojo, Chief of Party, Breakthrough Action-Liberia, disclosed at the opening of the training. “This training a five-day training. It’s a regional community engagement training, organized for Anglo-phone countries. There are seven countries present here. The idea is to training them on community engagement with a focus on family planning and reproductive health intervention.”

Dr. Saratu Olabode-Ojo, Chief of Party, Breakthrough Action-Liberia

“Breakthrough ACTION ignites collective action and encourages people to adopt healthier behaviors—from using modern contraceptive methods and sleeping under bed nets to being tested for HIV—by forging, testing, and scaling up new and hybrid approaches to social and behavior change (SBC).”

However, Hon. Joyce D Sherman, Assistant Minister for Preventive Services at the Ministry of Health, has lauded USAID and Breakthrough ACTION for their continuous interventions and at the same time called on participants to remain focused during the five-day training period.

“Taking responsibility as well as holding together, I see it as part of this training. However, I welcome you again”, she welcomed on behalf of the Minister of Health.   

Hon. Joyce D Sherman, Assistant Minister for Preventive Services

The five-day training exercise focus is to strengthen participant’s capacities to carry out Community Mobilization for Reproductive Health and family planning, using the adapted Community Action Cycle (CAC).

At the end of the training, participants are expected to understand various concepts including social and behaviour change communication (SBCC); social and behavior change (SBC); Community Mobilization (CM) and how they interrelate to each other; assess and strengthen community capacity to identify and prioritize reproductive health (RH)/ family planning (FP) issues, plan and implement effective community activities to address these issues; articulate their feelings, values and attitudes about gender and how personal perspectives of gender affects their work with communities; monitor community mobilization process, outcomes, and learning across communities; and plan how the new skills and knowledge will be applied upon return to their respective countries.

Participant will be able to describe strategies to build partnership between communities and health system; explain and model strategies to orient the community to their RH/FP issues; discuss key considerations and model strategies to build trust, credibility and a sense of ownership with the community.

participants

These discussions and model strategies, when applied, would invite and encourage those most affected by RH/FP issues to meaningfully participate in CM. The participants will also  assemble a Community Action Group (CAG) to work on key FP/RH issues, describe and modem approaches and tools to explore and prioritize SBC determinants of RH/FP issues; identify community behavior that are easier or harder to change; examine culture changes during their lifetimes; explore the difference between respecting culture and changing culture and discuss when and how it’s appropriate to nudge changes in social and cultural norms; and model the development of a Community Action Plan to address prioritized FP/RH determinants.

Finally, at the end of the training, participants are expected to define process and tools for supportive supervision, monitoring and reporting of community mobilization initiatives, identify the areas of improvement for the workshop, and annex commitment to use their new skills to mobilize communities in their respective countries.

Their interventions will harness the demonstrated power of communication—from mass media to community outreach to user-driven social media campaigns—to inspire long-lasting change, while also taking advantage of innovative approaches from marketing science, behavioral economics, and human-centered design.

Signed: ___________________________

            Felecia Gbesioh

            Director of Communications, MoH/RL

Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Protocols for Travelers

Incoming Travelers:

  1. All travelers must complete the Health Screening from via the Liberia Travel application (“Lib travel app”) at http://liberiacoviidtravel.org. anyone experiencing problems with the app can access a copy of the form via the National Public Health Institute of Liberia website @ nphil.gov.lr.
  • All travelers 18 years and above Must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination upon arrival and present a negative COVID-19 test result no earlier than 71 hours before departure.
  1. All travelers without proof of vaccination will be returned to their country of embarkation at the expense of the airline.
  • COVID-19 testing is not required on arrival at Robert’s International Airport

Outgoing Travelers:

All travelers Must check the COVID-19 guidelines and regulations of their destination country.

  1. All persons traveling out of Liberia are encouraged to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and follow the COVID-19 protocol requirement(s) of the destination country.
  2. All persons traveling to countries that require a COVID-19 test must present a negative COVID-19 test certificate before departure.
  1. COVID-19 sample collection (testing) for PCR and RDT is available at the Union Center located on Sophia Road in Congo Town, Monrovia from 9 am to 4 pm, 7 day7s a week. Travelers are encouraged to register at http://liberiacoviidtravel.org. prior to arrival at the Union Center. To register, select “Request a Travel Certificate” and fill out the requested information. Travelers should ensure they provide correct contact details and will receive a unique identification number to retrieve their test result online (http://liberiacoviidtravel.org). Travelers are encouraged to print a hard copy of their negative COVID-19 certificate before arriving at the Report’s International Airport.
  • Testing fees for outgoing travelers that require COVID-19 travel certificate: ECOWAS citizens traveling to ECOWAS Countries must pay US$50 for cost of COVID-19 testing while those travelling outside the ECOWAS region must pay US$75. Payments can either be made online or in cash at the UBA banking window at the Union Testing Center.
  • Travelers who test positive will be denied travel and must adhere to the Liberia’s COVID-19 Case Management Guidelines. A re-test will be conducted on day five (5) based on prevailing health status.

Signed: _________________________________________________

               Wilhemina S. Jallah, MD, MPH, CHES, FLCP, FWACP

                  Minister of Health and IMS Chair

Code of Marketing Breast-Milk Substitutes Press Release

The Ministry of Health with the statutory responsibility of promoting programs for Health and nutrition closely monitored all the processes leading to the passage of March 22, 2022, Nutrition Bill—the Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes (CMBS)—into law, by the 54th Honorable House of Representatives.

Following the passage of the CMBS Bill, there has been misinformation in the public domain based on an erroneous media circulation that Exclusive Breast Feeding is mandatory in Liberia.

Considering the misinformation, we wish to make the following clarifications:

  • The purpose of the Bill is to regulate te marketing of foods and other products that threaten the welfare and health of infants and young children in Liberia, It Does Not Make Exclusive Breast Feeding Mandatory for Women.
  • The 34th Session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes in 1981 as a minimum requirement to protect and promote appropriate infant and young child feeding. It encourages the provision of safe and adequate nutrition for infants, by protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding, and guide the proper use of breastmilk substitutes—if they must be used.
  • It is medically proven that breastmilk is the breast food for infants in their first 1000 days. Among several other benefits, exclusive breastfeeding, 0-6 months of birth, makes a child healthy, intelligent, strong, and creates stronger bonds between a child and the mother, and reduces families’ spending on medication and breast milk Substitutes.
  • Liberia, as a member of the Comity of nations, is taking steps to domesticate the World Health Assembly’s recommendations. Over 84 countries have domesticated the Code.

With the foregoing, the Ministry of Health, therefore, commends the Honorable House of Representatives of the 54th National Legislature for passing the Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitute Bill into Law. We, therefore, encourage the August Body to review recommendations are still opportunities to listen to more opinions before the Senate concurs.

Special thanks to the Ministry of Health through the Nutrition Unit, and other agencies including Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, and the Joint Committee on Health and Judiciary of the House of Representatives. We also appreciate the support of our development partners including WHO, UNICEF, the Irish Embassy, UN REACH, WaterAid, Action Against Hunger, Concern World Wide, and SUNSCAL.  We are grateful to other national and international institutions, women’s human rights and protection groups, the mothers, families, and the entire citizenry of the nation who continue to demonstrate support for under-five nutrition. It is hoped that this effort will double to accelerate a healthy and better future for Liberia.

Signed:

Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah

           Minister

           Ministry of Health

           Republic of Liberia

Liberia’s First National Dialysis Center Officially Commissions

(March 1, 2022, Monrovia, Liberia)—the government of Liberia, through Ministry of Health, has officially commissioned Liberia’s first National hemodialysis center, named Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Dialysis  Center; in honor of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

The dedication followed after a thorough assessment of the need to establish a dialysis center in Liberia, the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf led government in 2014, entered into a bilateral agreement with the Government of japan to build the first National Hemodialysis Center.

Subsequently, a medical team from the JFK Hospital was sent to Japan for training in early 2014. Regrettably, after their return, the project to establish the hemodialysis center was put on hold due to competing priorities from the devastating effects of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease Epidemic that left our health system. The epidemic inflicted many Liberians, but we are told that the death of health workers reduced our health workforce by a little of over 8%.

One of such disastrous consequences evolving from the deadly EVD epidemic was the unfortunate death of one of the medical team members who traveled to Japan for hemodialysis training. Dr. Abraham Borbor, the nation’s dialysis pioneer, lost his life due to the deadly EVD in 2014.

On May 9, 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Liberia as the first country in the West African nation to eradicate the deadly EVD epidemic; Liberia had to make plans for recovery. The government developed a new post-Ebola five-year strategic plan to rebuild the health system; this plan included training of Medical Doctors and Nurses in various specialized health related fields.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Dialysis Center

As government is continuity, in early 2018, the government of Japan met with the newly elected government of President George Manneh Weah, through the Ministry of Health, Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah and her able deputies without any hesitation, welcome the invitation to re-engage and further strengthen bilateral partnership to ensure the establishment of the National Hemodialysis Center.

Participants at the Opening Ceremony

At this point, Tokushukai Medical Group, sent Dr. Milanga to established, and plans were made to send the members of team on a study tour to Ghana to prepare them for the task of building a National Hemodialysis Center. The role of the Tokushukai Medical Group was 2-fold; to train a team of 6 (2 medical Doctors, 1 surgeon, 2 nurses and 1 biomedical technician), and purchase the equipment to run the Center. Through NIPRO (a partner of Tokushukai Medical Group) to new dialysis machines, a water system, and one-year warranty on the maintenance of machines were purchased and sent to Liberia.

Participants at the Opening Ceremony

Due to the need for additional resources, a proposal was submitted by the MOH to the World Bank, requesting additional support for the Center, World Bank approved our request for funding, and provided the much-needed support through the World Health Organization (WHO).

It is through this support of over $400,000 from the World Bank that the team completed the study tour, and the building was completely renovated, and extra consumables were purchased.  Efforts to acquire the critical facility began a decade ago during the regime of former President Sirleaf to provide access to much-needed dialysis care in Liberia.

However, President George Manneh Weah, who officially opened the Center, acknowledged difficulties Liberians had endured in accessing advanced dialysis-related medical services outside of the country.

President Weah Making Remarks at the opening Ceremony

With the existential issues of Liberians travelling abroad for kidney treatment and other disease complications, he recounted: “For too long, Liberians have had to travel out of the country to seek dialysis treatment. No one needs to tell you how costly that is. Not only would you have to worry about the cost of treatment in a foreign country, there is airfare, accommodation, and so many other associated costs which make the overall cost of this lifesaving treatment unaffordable for many.”

President Weah expressed optimism that with the opening of the first Dialysis Center, “anyone and everyone can get affordable dialysis treatment right here in Liberia.”

He described the ten-bed facility as a good beginning, which he insisted is insufficient to address the needs of the entire country.

Dr. Weah unveiling the Center

“I therefore wish to call for the early expansion of this facility, and its replication in other counties in order to provide easy access for our citizens who reside in the rural areas,” the Liberian Leader asserted.

President Weah stressed the need for appropriate budgetary support for the operation and maintenance of the facility, including the adequate supply of consumables and medications, and training. 

President Weah reflected how he was briefed in 2018 upon taking office by the then newly-appointed Minister of Health, Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah who told him that there was an urgent need for dialysis facilities in Liberia.

Dr. Jallah leading dignitaries touring the center

Dr. Jallah had told the President about existing efforts in the pipeline since 2011 under the previous administration for the establishment of a National Dialysis Center.

The President said he quickly instructed the Minister to exert every effort to bring the project to fruition, giving her his every encouragement and support. 

“And so today, four years later, I am pleased to be here to participate in the Opening Ceremony of the first Liberia National Dialysis Center,” the President said.

President Weah emphasized the importance of the National Dialysis Center, describing it as a major milestone in the Government’s effort to provide comprehensive and modern health facilities to the People of Liberia. He particularly acknowledged the efforts of former President Sirleaf and ex- Health Minister Dr. Walter Gwinegale.

Dr. Weah also extolled the extraordinary role played by former Liberian Ambassador to Japan, Madam Youngor Telewoda, who is now accredited to Germany.

The President added: “I would also like to express my thanks and appreciation to all of those who, under my Administration, have worked tirelessly to complete the Liberia National Dialysis Center, including the Minister of Health, Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah and her able team, as well as the administrative and medical leadership of the John F. Kennedy Medical Center.”

He extended profound thanks and deep appreciation to Dr. Tokuda Torao, the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Administrators of the Tokushukai Medical Corporation for what he termed “his kind philanthropy, without which this project might have taken much longer to realize.”

President Weah cutting ribbon of the center

Meanwhile, Liberia’s Health Minister Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah, in remarks, thanked the Chairman of Tokushukai, Dr. Afuso Hisaaki, World Health Organization, World Bank, USAID, and her able staff at the Ministry for their continuous support to the project as well as the country’s health sector.

She expressed excitement for the project which will able treatment of kidney and other disease complications instead of Liberians travelling abroad for treatment: “I am excited because many Liberians suffering from kidney disease will receive treatment at their own health facility, which is a great achievement and a blessing for all of us, as a nation”.

Dr. Jallah, Liberia’s Health Minister, making remarks

Given her quest for the provision of quality healthcare delivery and to seeing the completion of the project coupled with its furnishing, Dr. Jallah recalled: “To seeing this project completed, I moved from store to store in Ghana to get some equipment that are not seen in Liberia. Fortunately, after all the turnaround, I was able to find them in one of the store.”

Earlier, Dr. Jerry Browne, Chief Executive Officer of the John F. Kennedy Medical Center, underscored the importance for human resource development for the full operationalization and maintenance of the nation’s only dialysis center. A team of international medical practitioners has been providing instinct training to Liberian nurses and doctors are to take charge of the Center in the near future.

Dr. Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the John F. Kennedy Medical Center, making remarks

“Today, we are dedicating this beautiful facility but we should make sure this facility is maintained, nurses and doctors are trained and paid, hence, there should be stable electricity and there should be stand-by generator for this facility, so our people can’t suffer.”

Dr. Clement, WHO Country Representative to Liberia, making remarks

“For the full advancement of health development, it needs holistic approach. The Ministry needs support in advancing the health agenda of the Country, which the World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to”. Dr. Peter Clement, WHO Country Representative to Liberia.

Several speeches were made during the dedication, as partners commit to contributing to the country health sector in order to meet universal health benchmarks.

Signed_____________________________

           Felecia Gbesioh

           Director of Communications, MOH/RL

Immediate Advisory

(December 3, 2021, Monrovia, Liberia)-The attention of the Ministry has been drawn to the fraudulent act of some group of unscrupulous individuals masquerading the public space as Human Resource Director of the Ministry in disguise of providing vacancies by extorting money from their victims.        

All Vacancies information provided by means of telephone relative to the TB Annex and central MOH for the sole purpose of stealing money by these dubious and unidentified individuals, are false, misleading, and do not exist.

The Ministry will consistently ensure to publish all vacancies signed by the Human Resource Director, and approved by the Deputy Minister for Administration in the local dailies and on the Ministry’s website.

Meanwhile, the Ministry frowns on this diabolical act and strongly warns all those involved to desist because any perpetrator apprehended, will be dealt with according to the laws of the State.

The Ministry further clarifies that at no time it has announced any vacancy in recent time for TB Annex or central office.

However, the Ministry wants to caution the public not to do any business with these individuals as they do not represent the Ministry.

Anyone doing business with these unidentified individuals without further inquiries from the MOH Communication Office is doing it on their own risk. 

Signed: ________________________________

           Felecia Gbesioh

           Director of Communications, MOH, R.L.

MOH, Partners Launch National Malaria SBC Strategy

(Tuesday, November 9, 2021, Congo Town, Liberia)—the Ministry of Health (MOH) in collaboration with partners has officially launched a five-year National Malaria Social Behavior Change (SBC) Strategy, beginning 2021 to 2025.

The Liberia National Malaria Strategic plan (NSP) 2021-2025 redefines the strategic direction and focus of the Malaria program, including strengthening of management and coordination structure, health system, and capacities to achieve greater equality, coverage, quality, and more effective delivery of the interventions. In addition, the malaria NSP includes plan for preparedness and timely response during emergencies to ensure malaria control activities continue with minimal disruptions in an emergency (e.g., Ebola Virus Disease or coronavirus).

The launch which took place at the Ministry on Tuesday, November 9, 2021, gathering stakeholders from hybrid sectors, with both local and international organizations, including Global Fund, PCU, WHO, UNICEF, USAID/Breakthrough Action, amongst others, being in huge attendance.


As the first National Malaria Social Behavior Change Strategy for Liberia, this document is intended to guide all social and behavior change efforts supporting the objectives outlined in the NSP.

Calling on the public in general to change their behavior on the way they treat their surroundings was Deputy Health Minister for Administration, Hon. Norwu Howard: “We must change our behaviors on how we treat the places we live.”

The environmental factors such as the presence of bushes and stagnant water around homes were among few things the Deputy Minister spoke on; thereby encouraging the public to always clear their surroundings and use mosquitos net.

Though, there are several factors leading to the breeding of malaria across the nation, but with the coming in force of this Document, there will be room for improvement, according Oliver Pratt, Program Manager, National Malaria Control Program.

“Each of the stated SBC priority areas involves a range of actors within the Government of Liberia and external partners. SBC efforts can only realize their full potential for improving results with improved coordination at the national and sub-national levels. A shared agenda for SBC and clarity on the roles and responsibilities are critical to effectively implementing this strategy and fully achieving the objectives.

“while the NMCP is responsible for providing leadership, coordination, and strategic direction for operationalization of the strategy, effective collaboration with other multi-sectoral stakeholders at all levels will ensure strategy implementation and scale-up results in high-quality malaria prevention, care, and treatment efforts across Liberia. Through regular coordination meetings, message harmonization efforts, information sharing, joint monitoring, and other coordination efforts, the SBC efforts outlined in this strategy will reach the outlined objectives. Therefore, this strategy aligns with the coordination plan outlined and discussed in the National Malaria Strategic Plan 2021-2025. In addition, it is expected that all stakeholders, implementing partners, and donors will actively participate in providing technical and funding support as appropriate and support the implementation of the SBC interventions to support congruent thematic areas as outlined in the National Malaria Strategy Plan 202-2025, the National Communication Strategy (2016-2021), the National Health Promotion Policy and Plan,” Mr Pratt giving overview of the New National Malaria SBC Strategy (2021-2025).

 However, in remarks was also Breakthrough Action’s Chief of Party Dr Saratu Olabode-Ojo, who explained the positive impacts being made by the US organization in twelve of Liberia’s fifteen Counties, particularly in the
health sector.

“Breakthrough Action is the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) flagship social and behavior change (SBC) project by Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. The project will be implemented in Liberia from April 2020 to March 2022.

“Breakthrough Action works collaboratively in Liberia with the Ministry of Health at the national and subnational levels and in complementarity to relevant USAID implementing partners. The project is designed to: improve the effectiveness of SBC, implement high-quality SBC activities that will result in improved demand and use of health services for malaria; maternal, neonatal, and child health (MNCH); nutrition; family planning/ reproductive health (FP/RH); adolescent health (AH); and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); and support informed communities engaging in behaviors to prevent zoonotic and non-zoonotic infections in line with the global health security Agenda (GHSA)”, Dr. Olabode-Ojo.

Finally, in separate remarks, speakers representing diverse organizations pledged their commitment in supporting the new document launched for the provision and delivery of quality healthcare to the public.

Signed: ______________________________________

           Felecia Gbesioh

           Director of Communication