Health Minister warns public
Liberia’s Health Minister, Dr. Walter T. Gwenigale, has frowned at community residents and some villagers for hiding suspected Ebola victims in homes and Churches, warning that the deadly virus poses a serious threaten to the health sector here. He expressed the concern Friday, 25 July during a weekly press briefing held at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism.
He told reporters that “It has become a usual habit of some community dwellers and villagers to hide relatives when such individuals are suspected of coming in contact with the deadly Ebola virus; such action by those people has the ability to frighten the others and stop them from going to any nearby hospital which will cause serious problem to the health sector and the peaceful citizen of this country.”
Dr. Gwenigale said such attitude undermines efforts of the Ministry of Health in fighting the disease, saying: “If you don’t want to help the ministry, there is no need of saying things that would make the public to believe that the ministry is just trying to get more money. He also frowned at recent claim by Grand Kru County Senator Cletus Wotorson that there is no Ebola in Liberia, and that the ministry is making up story to raise money.
“It was said in the senate session by the senior senator of Grand Kru County that there is no Ebola in Liberia; we the officials of the Health Ministry just want to eat government money”, said the Health Minister, noting that such statement by the senator gives the general perception that there is no sign of Ebola in Liberia. He said if the Ebola issue is a make-up as claimed by the senator, many citizens would have lost their lives or health workers wouldn’t have died either.
He said Liberians should learn how to approach issues, especially those that bordered on national concern to avoid conflict, adding that: “This is no time to talk without providing solutions to the problem we are working to ensure that this deadly Ebola virus doesn’t take over the fifteen sub-divisions of this country.”
