The Bureau of Public Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

NEWS SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

Various news of Ebola dominates today’s dailies including a foreign doctor’s succumbing to it and nurses reportedly fleeing from a hospital in Kakata. Other dominant stories include the Letter of Credence from the new Sierra Leonean Ambassador to President Sirleaf, reported news of moving the Independence Day from Sinoe to Monrovia and the arrest of an Indian national in Liberia.

DOMINANT STORIES

Ebola Kills Doctor At Redemption Hospital

The FrontPageAfrica newspaper says it has reliably learnt that a foreign doctor from Uganda serving in Liberia has become the latest victim of the deadly Ebola virus that is pillaging Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone of valuable lives.
Among the new deaths have been a man who was a surgical doctor assigned at the Redemption Hospital in New Kru Town. Health authorities confirming the doctor’s death referred to him as Dr. Sam and stated that he died at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center Cholera Unit where he was being treated, writes the paper. It continues that health workers in Liberia are at risk for the deadly virus and many have expressed fear that they might come in direct contact with an Ebola patient without even realizing it. The Ugandan doctor is the fourth death among health workers. A physician assistant from the Tandapolie clinic in Caldwell was recently confirmed dead from the disease. 
Mr. Tolbert Nyenswah, Assistant Minister for Curative Services at the ministry of health has called on health workers across the country to take universal precaution to protect them against the disease. 
“We call it the barrier netting methods; that is, you must wear gloves during examination of a patient, even if they were not Ebola,” he told FrontPageAfrica. “What we call infection control in health facilities should be adhered to. So we are calling on health workers across the country, including private and public facilities; clinics and everywhere, to ensure at the highest standard and level to protect themselves.”
Following the reported death of eight persons including a health worker at the Redemption Hospital in New Kru Town in Monrovia, almost three weeks ago, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is reporting six (6) new cases as of June 30, 2014. The ministry states that out of the six are two suspected, one probable and three confirmed to have the deadly virus. The Assistant Minister for Curative Services states that there are ninety-six (96) cumulative (suspected, probable and confirmed).

Related Stories on Ebola:

Panic At KRTTI After Trainee Death

The New Dawn Newspaper reports: The sudden death of Madam Esther Kesselee led health authorities here to shut down the Redemption Hospital and transferred all patients to other government hospitals in the capital. Health Ministry authorities in Monrovia have declined to reveal the name of the Head Doctor or confirmed the death as all contacts made by this paper Tuesday to get details on the incident were turned down without any explanation. But our reporter who visited the Redemption Hospital Tuesday broke the news of the death of the Head Surgeon. Ebola-related deaths from New Kru Town have reached seven with the Head Surgeon at Redemption Hospital being the latest. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf paid a visit to the Redemption Hospital on June 17, 2014 to show solidarity for the staff and Nurses there after the death of Madam Kesselee. During the visit, President Sirleaf paid tribute to the administration, nurses and staff for their courage and sacrifices to the nation and promised government’s full support. Speaking earlier, the Assistant Minister of Health for Preventive Services, Tolbert Nyenswah, informed President Sirleaf of the challenges faced by health workers in the fight against the outbreak, including fear and denial. He explained that nurses at the Redemption Hospital are seriously shocked by the death of their colleague, which has also affected their passion to work in the wake of fear of being infected by the virus while attending to suspected cases. He, however highlighted that family members of Ebola victims are posing a serious hindrance to the instant burial of these fatalities, which is one of the surest ways of prevention. Minister Nyenswah said family members were demanding the remains of dead relatives for burial in keeping with normal traditions, warning that if not curtailed, the practice could hinder prevention efforts. 

Related Caption: Ugandian Doctor Falls To Ebola At JFK (FrontPage Africa Newspaper), Ebola Deaths Rise To 467 (The News Newspaper)

July 26 Moves To Monrovia

According to the New Democrat Newspaper, Grand Kru and Sinoe Counties will not host this year’s Independence Day Celebrations due to several factors beyond the control of the leadership of both counties, the Liberian Government has announced here. The announcement said Montserrado County has now been designated to host Liberia’s 167^th Independence Anniversary celebrations. This new development has necessitated immediately meetings with officials of Montserrado county and central government through the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Sierra Leone Emphasizes Liberia’s Security

The New Dawn Newspaper reports that neighboring Sierra Leone says it is available for any responsibility that will enhance cooperation with Liberia, as newly accredited Sierra Leonean Ambassador here, Boima Acha Kamara, emphasizes the importance of Liberia’s security.  Presenting his letters of credence Tuesday, Ambassador Kamara told President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf that if there is no peaceful and secured environment, all the development projects will [not be achieved] because security is very important. “… Because security is very important, with all the development projects, if there is no peaceful, secured environment, all will go in the dream,” said Ambassador Kamara, a former Sierra Leonean security authority. Ambassador Kamara said even when he was about to take leave of Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma for duty here, the neighboring President asked him (Ambassador Kamara) to offer to Liberia whatever he could, because security is very important. Already, the Ambassador says he is glad that the collaboration between Liberia and Sierra Leone is not just on the developmental level, assuring that during his stay in the country, he is available to be given any responsibility… that will enhance the cooperation between both countries. He concluded that through the Mano River Union, ECOWAS and AU, security arrangement is such that “This place will see peace in this sub-region.” President Sirleaf had earlier recalled the long history between Liberia and Sierra Leone, saying “Our origins are similar, our culture, our language and values – very similar.”

Indian ‘Fugitive’ Arrested In Liberia

The New Republic backpage story reports that it has gathered from the Business Line of India that the ‘missing’ chief of Ahmedabad-based Sai Info Systems (SIS), Sunil Kakkad, has been arrested by Interpol and the local police in Liberia in connection with the alleged Rs 1,000 crore fraud. Kakkad, along with family, had been missing since June last year after the company failed to pay salaries to its employees and repay its lenders.  Sources in the Ahmedabad crime branch confirmed the arrest by the international counterparts, but did not say when he was arrested. The report did not also say whether he has been taken back to India to face justice there. The Liberian National police could be reached for comment up to press time. 

OTHER STORIES 

‘Quality Must Remain Benchmark of Your Output’

Vice President Joseph N. Boakai has urged medical practitioners of the Liberia Post Graduate Medical Council (LPGMC) of the Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons (LCPS) that they should do all to maintain quality as the benchmark of their outputs. The VP spoke Friday, June 27, when he served as the inducting officer for the Executive Board and Foundation Fellows of the LPGMC of the LCPS. The VP said he was urging them to uphold quality in their profession all the more such a great necessity especially considering the critical importance and life-saving nature of their professional calling. “This is why on occasions of this brand—swearing in vital leadership organs of professional entities of this high standing—I pivot essentially one and the same mantra.  I implore them to truly pursue their defined mission of correctly nudging the entity on its plotted course forward.  I know enough to recognize that you are governed by an oath that is ever greater—the Hippocratic Oath.” The Liberian Vice President further told them that with the existence of the graduate medical education program, theirs “is the call to steer it on the solid goal-getting course--a trajectory that pivots the yielding of quality products that Liberia can be proud of. The fact is that, in your vocation, multitudes of credential-toting characters less endowed qualitatively pose a serious dilemma for any nation.” “The least we can expect, therefore, is that you will wield existing best practices in the drive to enrich your cohorts with the most impactful course content. This should find justification in the enhancement of our medical care delivery regimen. I sure can trust you on this.” The Vice President emphasized to the board members that they should firstly convince themselves that they are indeed strengthening the College, writes the Daily Observer Newspaper.

New Revenue Bureau Created

According to the New Democrat Newspaper, the Government of Liberia yesterday formally operationalized the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), a semi-autonomous agency charged with exclusive collection of government’s revenue. Speaking at the LRA’s launching event, Finance Minister Amara Konneh described the establishment of the new revenue authority as crucial and historical government’s revenue systems and financial regimes.  “This day is crucial and historical; and it’s a turning point in our quest to bring a dynamic revenue collection system to our financial sector”, Mr. Konneh told dignitaries at the program yesterday, June 1, 2014. Following declaration of the establishment of the LRA, Mr. Konneh said the Ministry of Finance henceforth shall be called “The Ministry of Finance Development and Planning (MOFDP)”. For her part, newly nominated Commissioner General of the LRA, Mrs. Elfreda S. Tamba expressed happiness for the LRA’s creation and promised to do exactly what the entity was established to perform.

 140 Chinese Peace-Keepers Arrive

140 strong Chinese riot squad left Beijing on Monday for an eight-month United Nations peace-keeping mission in Liberia. It is the second group of Chinese riot police to head for the Western African Country since October. According to the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, all members of the squad went through three months’ intensive training on international laws, arms use and language skills before their departure. Since 2000, China has dispatched more than 2,100 peace-keeping policemen to at least eight regions, including Timore-Leste, Bosnia and Herzegoviana, Kosova, Liberia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Haiti, and South Sudan, reports the New Democrat Newspaper.