More anti-Ebola shipments to Liberia

A joint Heart Foundation and AmeriCares partnership have hinted President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of a large shipment of anti-Ebola consignment to Liberia, some of which they said have already arrived.

Speaking Wednesday at President Sirleaf’s Foreign Ministry Office on behalf of the joint fraternal group regarding their partnership response to the Ebola outbreak here, Madam Masmina Sirleaf said to date, they have shipped six consignments of anti-Ebola supplies to Liberia.

Masmina, who serves as Interim Executive Director of the Heartt Foundation, said two of the shipments were donated in August by the AmeriCares, while the rest came in on Monday and Tuesday, this week.

She said they have started collaboration with local organizations, including the Alpha Kappa Alpha, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the Monrovia Rotary Club as in-country partners.

She said “On Monday when the shipment came in at the airport,” they coordinated the logistics that were trucked from the Roberts International Airport in Margibi County to the John F. Kennedy Hospital in Sinkor, Monrovia.

Also on the delegation briefing President Sirleaf Wednesday were AmeriCare Director of Emergency, Mr. Garrett Ingoglia, Assessment Team member Mr. Brian Hoyer, while the local organizations were represented by Mr. T. Nelson Williams, among others.

While appreciating the organization’s contribution to Liberia “particularly at this time” when the country is battling with “unknown disease,” President Sirleaf said, “the fear, the risk, the infection acceleration that we have faced have just interrupted our regular development work.”

But she said the partnership exhibited has not only given Liberia hope, but it just shows that there are lots of groups and organizations out there that serve humanity in a very selfless way. President Sirleaf acknowledged the work of Heart Foundation, which she said started before her administration as a Liberian initiative.

“And we saw this service grow over the years to the place where we had doctors coming to JFK and to Redemption on a rotating basis that has enabled the hospitals to have resident doctors all year round.”

She said what is commendable is that besides being initiated by Liberians and joined by American friends, it is managed, supported and implemented by Liberians with nothing more than asking the government and the Liberian people to receive and work with them.

She described as major contribution the coming of surgeons to Liberia and performing critical operations, adding that these are doctors that come on their own, taking off their time from their normal professional work and spending couple of weeks here as they are able to do. The President said when Ebola struck the country, doctors were compelled to leave because their organization could not continue to put them at risk.

“…So they had to leave. But they’ve continued to serve Liberia in their partnership, the partnership that continues to grow by … a lot of hospitals, medical institutions, universities- they’ve all just joined in,” she said.

President Johnson-Sirleaf also thanked the local group- Alpha Kappa Alpaha and Alpha Phai Alpah for their initiatives, saying neither of these groups has taken proposals to government to request support but prefer sourcing supports with their own effort even if they required resources beyond their own.