(Monrovia, Liberia, December 5, 2025)—The Ministry of Health, through its Health Quality Management Unit and in partnership with Jhpiego, with support from Plan International and the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), has completed a three-day workshop to validate Liberia’s revised National Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Guidelines.
The workshop brought together national, county, and partner representatives to review the draft guidelines through a multi-sectoral consultative process, ensuring the document is evidence-based, context-appropriate, and aligned with World Health Organization (WHO), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC), and Africa CDC standards.
Remarking at the event, Dr. Teyah S. Moore, Assistant Minister of Curative Services, welcomed participants and underscored the national significance of the validation exercise. “It is my honor to warmly welcome all of you to this important National Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Guideline Validation Workshop,” Dr. Moore said. He extended appreciation to Liberia’s health partners “for their unwavering support, technical expertise, and continued commitment to improving health outcomes.” Reflecting on Liberia’s experience during the Ebola outbreak, Dr. Moore noted that the crisis “fundamentally reshaped our health sector,” prompting the creation of the Healthcare Quality Management Unit and the appointment of a national IPC Coordinator to guide and streamline activities nationwide. “The first national IPC guideline served us well, but like all strategic documents, it had a lifespan,” he explained. “After reaching its expiration in 2018, it was reviewed this year, 2025, to reflect new evidence, global best practices, and lessons learned from our own national experience.”
Dr. Moore stressed that the revised guideline, once validated, will “strengthen national coordination among partners and stakeholders, enhance collaboration across all levels of the health system, and improve adherence to IPC standards in all health facilities across the country.” He encouraged participants to contribute actively: “Your expertise and insights are invaluable in shaping a guideline that is practical, effective, and nationally owned”.
Mr. Amos F. Gborie, Director of Environmental and Occupational Health at the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), emphasized the institution’s statutory mandate. “I am honored today to be a part of this validation workshop,” he said. “The National Public Health Institute of Liberia was established by the act of the national legislature to prevent, detect, and respond. These are our core mandates.”
He underscored the centrality of IPC in preventing future health emergencies. “Disease prevention—IPC—is key. So, we encourage every health care provider to understand IPC from a perspective of preventing the next outbreak.”
Representing the Africa CDC, Dr. Musa Abdullah, Epidemiologist and Technical Officer for Liberia, highlighted the impact of effective IPC systems: “The impact of IPC cannot be overlooked because we know the role it plays or the role it contributes in outbreak epidemics. It has to be strengthened within all of the various facilities in the country.”
Dr. Abdullah expressed confidence that once the document passes validation, it will “support IPC across the country and indirectly support health security.”
Speaking on behalf of Plan International Liberia, Dr. Momo Tegli, Deputy Chief of Party, expressed gratitude to IPC focal persons from counties across the country. “I bring you all warm greetings from Plan International,” he said. Dr. Tegli praised the collaborative process that produced the revised guidelines, including the work of consultant Mr. Philip Bemah. “I truly enjoyed the process; it was very professional,” he noted. He emphasized the importance of the document, recalling the devastating toll of Ebola on health workers: “Looking back at the Ebola outbreak, we saw how it unearthed some of the weaknesses we have in our health care system. We saw how some of our colleagues, as health workers died of this Ebola virus disease because we were not at that time at a higher level when it comes to IPC.”
Dr. Tegli encouraged participants to scrutinize the guidelines thoroughly over the coming days. “We need to make sure it is evidence-based,” he said. “Thank you as we go through these four days to put this document under the microscope.” The validation represents “the final step” before the guidelines are submitted for consolidated feedback, final editing, and adoption into national health policy.
Once endorsed, the new IPC Guidelines will guide implementation, strengthen coordination among IPC stakeholders, and enhance standard adherence across all health facilities.