THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia.

NEWS SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015

President Johnson Sirleaf’s emphasis on the need for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene program facilities to be placed in all Liberian schools, the discharge of Liberia’s only Ebola patient from the Chinese-run Ebola Treatment Unit and the United State Embassy near Monrovia US$3,000 grant to recover the Press Union of Liberia stolen equipment are stories dominating today’s summary of the local dailies.

DOMINANT STORIES

President Sirleaf Calls for WASH Facilities in all Liberian Schools

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has emphasized the need to have a full functional and comprehensive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program in all Liberian schools. She said work must be done to ensure that Liberian schools experience 100 percent WASH programs within the next two years, thereby reversing the lack of proper water, sanitation and hygiene in all schools that have plagued the society despite tremendous efforts to improve these conditions. According to a Dispatch from Brussels, Belgium, the Liberian leader made the assertion on Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at a forum organized by the Liberian Government and OXFAM for donors and partners to generate support towards improving the health, and WASH programs in Liberian schools. President Sirleaf said the Ebola virus disease outbreak made it imperative for an assessment of the country's delivery systems in all sectors and the need for improvement and modernization of the healthcare delivery system to be able to withstand any resurgence of such disease in the future, reports the In Profile Daily.

Related Captions: Ellen Wants WASH Facilities In Liberian Schools(The New Dawn), President Sirleaf Calls For WASH Facilities In All Liberian Schools(INSIGHT), Ellen Calls For WASH Facilities In All Liberian Schools…Says It’s Vital To Students Health And Safety(Heritage)

Liberia Releases Last Ebola Patient Today

The Newsnewspaper reports that Liberia will today, March 5, 2015, discharge the last Ebola patient from the Chinese-run Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) on the outskirts of Monrovia. “There will be a discharge ceremony of the lone confirmed case which was positive following three repeated tests until a final test recently that showed the person is now negative,” said the head of the Incident Management System (IMS) Tolbert Nyenswah. He made the disclosure at the Information Ministry daily Ebola Press Conference in Monrovia, Wednesday. According to him, the discharge of the lone case would indicate that the country is gradually moving towards the countdown that could possibly signify the end of the Ebola crisis, if citizens resist complacency.

Related Captions: Liberia Discharges Last Ebola Patient Today(In Profile Daily), Last Ebola Victim To Be Discharged Today(The Inquirer), Last Ebola Patient Leaves ETU Today…As Liberia Stands The Chance Of Being Ebola-free(INSIGHT), Liberia Discharges Last Ebola Case Today(Heritage)

US Embassy Provides US$3K Grant To PUL

The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) and the United States Embassy near Monrovia have signed a grant agreement of US$3,000 to enable the union replace equipment and materials stolen after the PUL headquarters was recently burglarized. PUL President and the Embassy’s Public Affairs Officer Sally Hodgson signed the agreement at the US Embassy in Monrovia Wednesday morning. Embassy authorities said the grant was their way of helping the PUL to recover from the burglary, and to support the Liberian media, which is a critical pillar to the country’s democracy.  PUL President K. Abdullai Kamara said the US Embassy’s assistance is timely and noteworthy. Kamara said with the grant, the PUL will now reequip its media monitoring unit and address other work-related constraints the Union has faced since the burglary. According to the In Profile Daily, items from the union’s headquarters include five media monitoring radio phones, a black Acer Laptop, three stabilizers, two video recorders, and a Public Address system, among 11 other items.

Related Captions: PUL, US Embassy Sign US$3,000 Grant To Recover Stolen Equipment(The Inquirer), PUL, US Embassy Sign US$3,000 Grant To Recover Stolen Equipment(INSIGHT), PUL, US Embassy Sign Us$3,000 Grant(The New Dawn), US Embassy Replaces PUL’s Stolen items(New Democrat), U.S. Embassy Gives US$3,000 To PUL…To Recover Stolen Equipment(The News), PUL, US Embassy Sign Us$3,000 Grant To Recover Stolen Equipment(Heritage)

OTHER STORIES

March 8 Decalred International Women’s Day

The In Profile Daily quotes a Foreign Ministry release as saying that the President of the Republic of Liberia, Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has by Proclamation, declared Sunday, March 8, 2015 as International Women’s Day and is to be observed as a Working Holiday on Monday, March 9, 2015. The release furthered that the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Women NGO Secretariat, women organizations and groups, in collaboration with the UN System and partners will celebrate the day simultaneously in the fifteen (15) counties of Liberia under the Global Theme: “Make It Happen” and the National Theme: “ Women Rising Beyond Ebola”. The Proclamation acknowledged the contribution of the women of Liberia in supporting Government in all of its efforts in ensuring Liberia is Ebola free and their continuous advocacy against perpetrators of gender based violence, especially rape. According to the Proclamation, the intent of the celebration of the day is to create awareness and to engage protection of institutions on the need to speed up the trial of rape cases, strengthen community structures to take collective action on issues against gender based violence and to launch study report on the impact of Ebola on women and men. Liberia ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), reflecting its commitment to gender equality and equity through its national reconstruction and development program.

Gov't  To Provide US$3M For UL Reopening

Acting Information Minister Isaac Jackson says government is diligently working to make available US$3 million to the University of Liberia (UL) to enable it settle arrears and complete the past semester that was interrupted by the Ebola crisis. Making the disclosure at the Ministry of Information daily Ebola press conference held in Monrovia on Wednesday, Minister Jackson said government is expected to provide this money on or before Friday, March 6, 2015. He said this effort by Government was prompted by a recent request for US15.1 million made by authorities of the University to government for the resumption of academic activities, reports the Inquirer newspaper.

Related Caption: Gov’t To Provide US$3M For UL Reopening(Heritage). At the same time,the University of Liberia Vice President for Public Relations, Mr. Norris Tweh, has disclosed that the University would open on March 17, 2015 but only for junior and senior students. This means freshman and sophomore students would not resume classes until a date to be announced after the five weeks. Senior and Junior students who still have some freshman and sophomore courses to clear will have to do so later. Students of the University of Liberia will start from where they stopped before the closure of school in last year. This measure, according to Mr. Tweh, is intended to prevent Ebola infections of the campuses on the university, writes the INSIGHT newspaper under the caption “UL To Reopen For Senior & Junior Students Only”.

GoL, ABIC Dedicate Hand Washing Polytank

According to the Inquirer newspaper, the Ministry of Transportation in collaboration with the Angie Brooks International Center Tuesday dedicated a hand washing polytank that contains 500 gallons chlorinated water and PPEs to motorcyclists at the motorcycle parking station on 20th Street Sinkor. In brief remarks, Deputy Minister for Administration/Insurance Bushuben M. Keita said the motorcyclists should consider the newly installed hand washing polytank as their property and provide protection for it.

Obama Declare New “Let Girls Learn” Initiative

The Administration of President Barrack Obama has announced that it is expanding its efforts aimed at helping adolescent girls worldwide attend and complete school through an initiative called “Let Girls Learn”. This new effort will build on investments the government has made and successes it has achieved in global primary school education and expand them to help adolescent girls compete their education and purse their broader aspirations. The discloser was contained in a press release issued Wednesday by the United States Embassy in Monrovia. The release indicated the about 62 million girls around the world, half of whom are adolescent are not in school, something which has diminished their economic opportunities and has made them more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, early and force marriage, and other forms of violence, according to the Heritage newspaper.  

UNMEER Providing U.S.$100,000 for Community Quick Impact Projects for Ebola Recovery

The Inquirernewspaper reports that over one hundred and thirty Community Based-Organizations (CBOs) have participated in workshops that are part of an initiative by the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) to provide CBOs with up to US$5,000 each to engage in a range of activities that will bring Liberia to zero new Ebola cases. According to UNMEER Montserrado County Field Crisis Manager Peter Dalglish, the workshops are about more than just getting to zero; “it's about staying at zero. It's about helping people who have been traumatized or stigmatized as a result of Ebola”. Mr. Dalglish said UNMEER has set aside US$100,000 under its Community Quick Impact Project (CQIPS) that will run from eight to 10 weeks.