The Government of the Republic of India has made a donation of 441 cartons of medical supplies to the Government of Liberia to aid in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wednesday, 25 November in Monrovia, the Indian Government, through its Ambassador to Liberia, Y.K. SailasThangal, made the donation on Tuesday, 24 November in the C. Cecil Dennis, Jr. Auditorium.
Ambassador Thangal, in his presentation, expresses great pleasure and honor in handing over the lifesaving drugs from India as a token to the Republic of Liberia.
The Ambassador stresses that the Government of India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Na-rendraModi and Foreign Minister SubrahmanyaJaishankar, took the bold step to happily open up India’s pharmaceutical industry to the world when the pandemic hit hard and many countries re-stricted their exports.
India has supplied medicines to combat covid-19 to over 150 countries including Liberia. The Indian Ambassador emphasized that the medical supplies given is part of the medicines which have already been handed over to the Liberian Government earlier this year, bringing the donation to 641 cartons of medical supplies.
For his part,, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dee-Maxwell SaahKemayah, Sr., welcomed the Indian Ambassador to Liberia and commended him on his trip in the midst of the second wave of the Co-vid-19. Minister Kemayah, on behalf of the Government and people of Liberia, extended profound thanks and appreciation to the Government and people of India for the donation of the lifesaving drugs.
“This donation is in time as indicated by the Health Minister. This donation comes at a time when the second wave of the covid-19 is sweeping across the world with Liberia being of no exception,” he says.
“It is a reality that as countries including Liberia, battle Covid-19, there is a challenge in addressing other illnesses, so these drugs will go a long way in helping the Ministry of Health that is [charged] with the primary responsibility of our health needs,” says Minister Kemayah.
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Minister Kemayah expresses happiness in receiving the drugs and assured the Government of India that the donation will be used for the intended purpose.
The Foreign Minister states that Liberia and India have come a long way spanning decades and it is no surprise that India is making this donation. He reiterates that during their earlier bilateral discus-sion, Ambassador Thangal provided him update on efforts being made to the supply of CT Scan for JFK Medical Center, and that significant progress has been made to the point of order being placed.
Foreign Minister Kemayah assures the Government of India that under his administration as Minis-ter of Foreign Affairs, he will leave no stone [untouched] in strengthening the bilateral relations be-tween India and Liberia.
“As we receive these drugs today, the Government of Liberia is positive that your government will exert all efforts to bring into reality the Mahatma Gandhi Conference Center or “Bali Island” as we formally call it; as well as, the road project which is intertwined with the Bali Island,” he adds.
“I am very much pleased with our level of discussion in that direction and look forward to a suc-cessful next step in terms of progress,” Minister Kemayah continues.
Minister Kemayah also thanks the Government and people of India for the partnership in relation to the 14th Military hospital.
“Today that hospital is the place, I can refer to as a place of life, where those who are affected by Covid-19 are taken and come from there with hope [being] restored,” the Foreign Minister indi-cates.
Speaking earlier at the donation ceremony, General Services Agency (GSA) Director General and Chair on Liberia Incident Management System on Covid-19, Madam Mary Broh expresses pro-found gratitude to the Government and people of India for the immense contributions to the devel-opment of Liberia through the Indian Consulate in Liberia.
Madam Broh references the contribution of the Indian Honorary Counsel to Liberia, Shri Upjit Singh Sachdeva commonly known as Jetty, during the peak of the Covid-19 when he fed hundreds of Liberians. She also thanks the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its hard work in coordinating with international partners for support to Liberia.
Also speaking, Health Minister Dr. Wilhelmina S. Jallah, says the donation comes in handy during the second wave of the Covid-19. Dr. Jallah notes that Liberia’s weekly curve has been increasing from October, and every week Liberia has seen higher figures which she attributes to outgoing trav-elers.
“Today, [Liberia’s] cases stand at 1507 with an additional death last night bringing Liberia to 83 deaths total from Covid-19. These medications will be used wisely,” Minister Jallah assures.
She mentions that the Ministry of Health has embarked on a home- based health and routine care, committing that the Ministry of Health will make sure that almost every Liberian feels the impact of the Indian medical donations. She thanks the Government and people of India for the goodwill.–Press release
