THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia.

NEWS SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2015

The Presidents of Benin and Niger visit to Liberia, thearrival of a new head of the United Nations Ebola Emergency Response and the commencement of the Ebola trial drug in Liberia are the dominating stories on the newsstand today, January 8, 2015.

Other stories include the signing of L$37 Million grant agreement between Liberia and Mauritanian as well as the Constitution Review Committee submission of report to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Dominant Stories

Niger, Benin Leaders Visit Liberia

The Inquirer newspaper reports that in solidarity with the Government and People of Liberia, the President of the Republic of Niger and the President of Benin yesterday paid a visit to the country as part of both countries' contribution to the fight against the deadly Ebola virus in Liberia. The visit of both countries President according to them is intended to show their supports to the people of Liberia as well as ECOWAS's support in the fight against the Ebola virus in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Speaking during a brief discussion with President Sirleaf at the Roberts International Airport, the President of Niger His Excellency Mohamadou Issoufou pledged his country's support to the ongoing fight against the Ebola virus in Liberia noting that the President and people of Liberia are in his heart because they are all part of ECOWAS and the African Union and as such they should work in solidarity. For his part, President Thomas Yaya Boni of Benin also committed his country's support to the eradication of the virus in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. He added, "We all have to put hands together if Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone must be Ebola-free because this is not about the government", the paper has said.

Related Caption:Benin, Niger Presidents Visit Liberia(The Informer)

Related Story:The New Democrat newspaper captioned:African Leaders Want Debt Waiver reports that two African leaders who were in the country on a one day working visit have call on global financial institutions and the international community to waive debt incurred by the three worse Ebola-hit countries. The death toll from Ebola in the three worst affected countries Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea in west Africa has risen to 7,373 among 19,031 cases known to date there, the World Health Organization has said. The latest data posted overnight on the WHO website, reflected nearly 500 new deadly pandemic that has killed more than 8,000 people and left over 4,000 orphans, a situation president Issoufou stressed must be addressed. President Issoufuo also warmed against stigmatizing countries that have been affected by the Ebola virus disease. In the coming weeks and month, both leaders assured their Liberian counterpart that their countries will resume flight to Liberia, saying “Isolation is not the best solution to solve this crisis.”

Related Caption:Debt Waiver Proposed For Ebola-Hit Nations (FrontPage Africa)

Ellen Receives New UNMEER Head

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has met with the new Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General and Head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), Mr. Ismail OuldCheikh Ahmed. The Liberian President received Mr. Ahmed and his delegation at her Foreign Ministry office during a courtesy call on Tuesday. January 6, 2015, where brief acquaintance pleasantries were exchanged Mr. Ahmed, a Mauritanian; replace Mr. Anthony Banbury, Daily Observer reports.

Related Captions:UNMEER SRSG Pleads for Regional-Collaboration to Battle Ebola (Daily Observer),New UNMEER Head Pledges Support To Government’s Back To School Efforts (Heritage),Pres. Sirleaf Receives New Head Of UNMEER (West Africa Info Post), Ellen Receives New Head of UNMEER (The Informer),New UNMEER Head Pledges Support To Government’s Back To School Effort (Insight),New UN Ebola Envoy Arrives In Liberia (Focus),and Pres. Sirleaf Receives New UNMEER Head (Focus)

Ebola Drug Trial Begin At ELWA

A clinical trial for a possible treatment for Ebola began on January first at ELWA   , MSF’s Ebola Management center in Paynesville outside Monrovia. Led by Oxford University from the United Kingdom, and founded by the welcome Trust, the trial aims to determine if the anti-viral drug brincidofovir is an effective treatment for Ebola. Taking part in the trial is completely voluntary and the trial is designed without a control group, a group that does not receive the medication in order to include as many Ebola positive patients as possible. Whilst MSF hopes that brincidofovir might reduce death from Ebola, it must be stressed that it is not a miracle cure and it still not known whether it will help patient survive the virus. It is expected that the first result will be available in February 2015, reports the New Democrat newspaper.

Related Captions:Ebola Drug Trial Starts In Liberia (Heritage),Ebola Drug Trial Starts (West Africa Info Post),Ebola Drug Trial Underway In Liberia (Focus),Ebola Drug Trial Starts In Liberia (The New Republic),and Ebola Drug Trial Starts In Liberia (The News)

Other Stories

Gov’t Signs L$37 Million Grant Agreement- As Mauritanian Prez Calls For Mutual Support Among Member States.

Though the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease seems to be getting to the finish-line, yet global support continues to be forthcoming with the latest coming from the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. The Liberian government and her Mauritanian counterpart signed for the provision of a LD$37 million grant to assist in the fight against the Ebola virus disease. The signing ceremony took place in the C. Cecil Dennis Auditorium at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Monrovia on Monday. The Signing of the grant agreement was part of Mauritanian President, Mohamed Ould Abdul Aziz’s , two day solidarity visit to the country. Prior to the signing of the LD$37 million grant agreement, the Mauritanian President, in a joint press stakeout with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, said his government would work with Liberia to consolidate the relations between both countries. The Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr. Amara Konneh, signed on behalf of the Government of Liberia, while the Mauritanian Minister of Economic Affairs and Development, Mr. SidiOuldTah, signed on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, an Executive Mansion statement said, Daily Observer reports.

Related Caption: Mauritanian President Visits Liberia(West Africa Info Post)

CRC To Submit Report To Pres. Johnson Sirleaf

The Constitution Review Committee (CRC) says it is compiling public views collected during its outreach programs for submission to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf shortly. The disclosure was made Tuesday by the Director of Communication at the CRC, D.Y. Hne, in an interview with reporters at his office in Sinkor. He explained that the views being compiled also constitute views collected from diaspora Liberians, noting that the reports will be submitted following the holding of a National Constitutional Conference to be held later this month, pens the News newspaper.

Farmers Receive Corn Seeds InGbarpolu         

The News newspaper reports that four hundred farmers in Gbarpolu County have received corn seeds from the Gbarnpolu County Rural Farmers Network (GRFN). Speaking during the distribution of the seeds in Bopolu over the weekend, GRFN Coordinator SengerJallah said the seeds were provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to enable farmers increase their yields. He said the beneficiaries are from Central and New Bopolu, Promised Land Community, Totoquelleh, Farwein-Ta, Sappima, Varmah Town, Guyan Town, Bondi Community, Gbarquota, Farsue Town, Guowoma and Gbarrma. Senger disclosed that prior to the distribution, GRFN provided seed rice and cassava stems to hundreds of farmers in the county through its Good Neighbor Women Empowerment program to boost the agriculture initiative of farmers.

UNDP Empowers Over 70 Former Dry Meat Sellers

The plight of former bush meat sellers in the country may have been overlooked as Liberians weaned themselves off the delectable dried monkey, deer and other bush meat now known to be carriers of the deadly Ebola virus disease. These sellers have lost a lucrative niche of the food market along with the income it provided to them and their families. The Government of Liberia banned the sale of dried meat in the country following the Ebola outbreak last year. Coming to aid of these particular Ebola effected business people, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is providing cash transfer assistance to more than 70 former dried meat sellers in Monrovia. A cash transfer assistance of US$100 was recently provided to each former bush meat seller to empower this specific sector of market women who once profitably sold dry meat prior to the Ebola outbreak in the country, Daily Observer reports.

Over 600 Ebola Survivors benefits From ADRA U$110K New Year’s Package

Adventist Development Relief Agency ADRA Network in collaboration with the LathalDiason Church has recently embarked on its Zmas and New Year distribution of assorted items to about six hundred Ebola survivors across Montserrado Country. According to ADRA’s project Coordinator Madam Hester Curry, the ADRA Newwork Ebola Zmas and New Year project is intended to identify with and help Ebola survivors affected by the outbreak of the deadly virus in the country. She said the Xmas and New Year project came about when the head of ADRA visited Liberia and saw the need to help Ebola survivors, Daily Observer writes.

Ellen Condolences Singapore, Indonesia, and China

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has sent two separate messages of condolence to the Government and Peoples of the Republics of Singapore and Indonesia following tragic news of the Air Asia Q28501 which recently crashed into Java Sea while en route from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore leaving one hundred and sixty two (162) people dead. In her message to His Excellency, Mr. Tony Tan, President of the Republic of Singapore, President Johnson Sirleaf on behalf of Liberia extended heartfelt condolences to the Government and People of Singapore especially the bereaved families for the irreparable loss sustained as a result of the plane crash. "It is a profound shock and deep sorrow that we have learned the unfortunate news of Air Asia Q28501 which crashed, the Liberian President noted. In her message to the Chinese President H. E. Xi Jinping, President Johnson Sirleaf expressed hope that China will gather the strength and fortitude for which the Chinese are known to go through this period of National tragedy, the Informer newspaper reports.

WHO Warms Liberia

According to the New Democrat newspaper, the world Health Organization (WHO) warned that Liberia may return to an unexpected rise in the deadly Ebola virus fight if Liberians do not desist from complacency. Dr. Bruce Aylward, Director for Emergency Operation of the WHO told a news conference Wednesday that despite a reduction in the number of cases in the virus, he has observed that most Liberians are becoming complacent. The virus might take advantage of the population’s complacency and strike; he warmed adding that “what has stuck me since we arrived on this trip is the fact that the attitudes of most Liberians have changed since the reduction cases started which in our mind should not be the case.” He labeled the virus as a furious virus that takes opportunity of complacency stressing the need for strong engagement straight adherence to health regulation.