THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia.

NEWS SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s declaration of November 29 as a National Holiday, European Union’s disbursement of 22 million Euros to support Liberia’s budget, as well as President Johnson Sirleaf’s meeting with a Chinese delegation are stories dominating our summary of today local dailies.

Ellen Declares Nov. 29 National Holiday

The Heritage Newspaper quotes a Foreign Ministry release: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has by Proclamation declared Saturday November 29, 2014, as the 119^th birth Anniversary of the late President William V.S. Tubman, and is to be observed throughout Liberia as a National Holiday. The Proclamation further orders and directs all government offices, business houses and market places to be closed during the observance from Six O’clock ante meridian to Six O’clock post meridian. The Proclamation is in consonance with an Act of Legislature enacted at the 3^rd Session of the 42^ndNational Legislature of Liberia, declaring the birth anniversary of Liberia’s 18^th President William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman (November 29, 2014) of each year as a National Holiday in keeping with the will of the Liberian people. According to a Foreign Ministry release, the Proclamation is in recognition of his productive and meaningful services and policies, including the Open Door Policy, the National Unification and Integration Policy, the granting of suffrages to Liberian women as well as the policies on all social, economic development nationwide and his contributions to the emancipation of African colonial territories into self-governing statehood. The Proclamation further declared that the celebration is in  consideration of the numerous contribution, profound changes and lasting compliments made by President Tubman during his administration as the 18^th President of the Republic of  Liberia, the people, desirous of showing their deep appreciation, esteem and approval for his outstanding, noble and remarkable leadership, did petition and request the National Legislature of the Nation to issue permanent record of their sentiments in honor of his birth for posterity.

Related Captions:President Sirleaf Declares Nov. 29, 2014 National Holiday(The New Republic),Saturday Is National Holiday(In Profile Daily), President Sirleaf Declares Nov. 29 National Holiday (The Inquirer)

EU Disburses 22 Million for Budgetary Support to Liberia

According to the New Dawn newspaper, the European Union has approved the disbursement of EUR 22 million (approx. US$27.2 million) budget support to help Liberia to scale up its efforts to eradicate the Ebola virus here. The announcement followed the joint visit to Monrovia on November 14th of the European Union's Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management and official EU Ebola Coordinator, Mr. Christos Stylianides, and Mr. Vytenis Andriukaitis, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. With these funds, the European Union will support the Liberian budget and state systems to ensure its capacity to face the economic challenges created by the Ebola crisis and to deliver public services. In particular, the funds will support the health sector and the fight against Ebola. The payment has been accelerated as part of the EU's response to the multi-faceted Ebola crisis. The specific objectives of the EU's budget support to Liberia are to improve (1) economic governance, (2) macro-economic stability, especially in the context of the Ebola crisis, and (3) the provision of basic services, notably in the area of health. The EU has agreed with the Liberian Government to continue improving public finance management, macroeconomic stability and helping the Government fight and contain the current Ebola outbreak, as well as to start reshaping the health sector. By the 6th of November more than € 1 billion has been pledged by EU Member States and the European Commission for this crisis. On 24th October 2014, the European Council appointed Mr Christos Stylianides as the EU Ebola Coordinator.

Related Captions:EU Disburses €22 Million In Budget Support To Liberia(FrontPage Africa), EU Disburses Eur 22 M In Budget Support Liberia(Heritage),EU Disburses EUR 22 M To Liberia(The News),EU Disburses Eur 22m Budget Support To Liberia(In Profile Daily),EU Disburses Eur Million In Budget Support To Liberia(Daily Observer)

Pres. Sirleaf Meets Chinese Delegation

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and her key officials have held a bilateral meeting with a visiting Chinese delegation led by the Vice Minister of National Health and Family Planning Commission, Cui Li. An Executive Mansion release said at the bilateral meeting which took place at the Foreign Ministry in Monrovia, the Liberian President requested the Chinese medical contingent to work closely with their Liberian medical counterparts to develop the criteria and protocols for the effective operation of the Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU). "As the ETU looks like a field hospital and is well equipped, let's think far ahead by ensuring that it will still be useful to help Liberians after the eradication of the Ebola virus disease," President Sirleaf said. Also speaking, Vice Minister Cui Li extended best wishes from the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping and praised President Sirleaf for leading Liberia to success particularly in the fight against the Ebola virus disease. She thanked President Sirleaf and her government for supporting the Chinese effort to build an ETU and announced that it will be operational in a week's time, reports the New Dawn newspaper.

Related Captions:Chinese Delegation Holds Discussions(West Africa INFO Post), Ellen Wants Ties With China Enhanced (The Reporter),Visiting Chinese Delegation Holds Bilateral Discussions With Pres. Sirleaf(Insight)

OTHER STORIES

Ellen Visits Alpha OAU, Island Clinic Ebola Centers

In continuation of her visits to various Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs), President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf expressed happiness that all the ETUs around Monrovia are experiencing a drastic decline in patient intake. However, she continues to warn Liberians to follow the advice and measures specified by healthcare workers in order to break the transmission of the disease, as there are still hotspots and pockets in communities. According to an Executive Mansion release, President Sirleaf made the comments on Wednesday, November 26, 2014 when she visited the 96 bed Alpha OAU Ebola Center in Virginia and the 100 bed Island Clinic Ebola Center near St. Paul’s Bridge, Bushrod Island to assess conditions there, including constraints, and to thank healthcare workers, partners, and volunteers for their services to the country especially in the fight against the Ebola virus disease, reports the Heritage Newspaper.

India Donates More Buses

The Inquirernewspaper reports that the Government of India has donated 14 Leyland Askor Buses to the Government of Liberia to boost the capacity of the National Transit Authority (NTA). The Government made the announcement yesterday through the Deputy Information Minister for Technical Services, Mr. Robert W. Kpadeh at the daily Ebola Press briefing held at the Ministry of Information. Minister Kpadeh said this is the third time India is donating buses to the NTA as a means of boosting the country’s public transport sector.

U.S. Hospital for Ebola Health Workers Discharges Patients

According to the News newspaper, the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps has announced that two patients, both Liberian healthcare workers, were released Monday from the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU). Both patients have recovered from Ebola and are virus-free. Stanley Sayonkon, a 42-year-old nurse, and Mark Tate, a 43-year-old clinic records specialist, were admitted to the MMU, a 25-bed field hospital constructed by the U.S. Department of Defense earlier this month and were successfully treated for Ebola. The MMU's mission is to care for health care workers who become infected with Ebola. Both Sayonkon and Tate expressed gratitude to the staff at the MMU for providing care, and helping them recover from Ebola.

Related Caption: Two Health Workers Discharged From ETU(INSIGHT)

PUL, NEC Hold Regional Training For Journalists

The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) and the National Elections Commission (NEC) have trained up to 50 national and community radio journalists in western Liberia to provide professional coverage of the December 16 special senatorial election. The training which took place in Tubmanburg, Bomi County from November 24-25 is the first in the series of four regional training that will benefit journalists from the 15 political subdivisions of the country. The Tubmanburg gathering covered journalists from Bomi, Gbarpolu and Grand Cape Mount Counties. The exercise, with support from the USAID-funded International Federation for Electoral Systems (IFES), continues in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County on November 27 & 28, targeting journalists from Montserrado, Grand Bassa, Margibi and Rivercess counties. The INSIGHT newspaper writes that the training focuses on preparing journalists to understand the electoral process and to use the PUL Code of Conduct for the election coverage.

Ebola Doctor Alarmed Over Male Survivors Infecting Partners

Dr. Atai Omurutu, head doctor at the Island Clinic Ebola treatment unit, has raised an alarm over the disturbing incidents of male Ebola survivors infecting their partners and putting entire families at risk. Dr. Omurutu said wives of male survivors are being admitted to the facility because they have contracted the disease from their partners. She appealed to the Ministry of Health for condoms to be given to male survivors in order to stop this mode of transmission of the Ebola virus. She disclosed this new wave of infection to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf when the President toured the Island Clinic ETU and the Alpha OAU ETU in Tweh Farm and Virginia, respectively. Dr. Omurutu, a Ugandan doctor, stated that once a person survives Ebola, they still have the virus in their semen for up to three months; therefore it is extremely important that male survivors abstain from sex during that period or use a condom to avoid infecting their partner. The Daily Observer reports that in continuation of her visits to various Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs), President Sirleaf expressed delight that all the ETUs around Monrovia are experiencing a drastic decline in patient intake. However, she continues to warn Liberians to follow the advice and measures specified by healthcare workers in order to break the transmission of the disease, as there are still hotspots.