Daily Media Summary 2016-09-06

THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

NEWS SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2016.

 

Today’s edition of the Summary highlights news of Acting Foreign Minister B. Elias Shoniyin meeting with an 18-member delegation from the United Nations Headquarters in New York;  President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s Message of Congratulations to the Government and People of the Federative Republic of Brazil on the occasion of the 194th Independence Anniversary of that country and the Liberian Government; and international partners’ commencement of a weeklong assessment on the Joint External Evaluation of the implementation of the International Health Regulations.

 

 

DOMINANT STORIES

Acting Foreign Minister Meets With Visiting UN Security Council Assessment Team

The Heritage newspaper reports that Acting Foreign Minister B. Elias Shoniyin received in audience an 18-member delegation from the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York currently visiting Liberia. The visiting UN delegation, headed by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. El Ghassim Wane, was accompanied to the Foreign Ministry by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) to Liberia, His Excellency Mr. Farid Zarif, who is also the head of the UN Operations in Liberia. According to a Foreign Ministry release, welcoming the UN Assessment Team to Liberia, Deputy Foreign Minister Shoniyin expressed gratitude for the level of support from the UN, particularly from 2003, with the formation of UNMIL and the very meaningful role it has played in restoring and maintaining peace in Liberia. Acting Minister Shoniyin further told the UN Team that the Liberian Government would appreciate the current configuration of UNMIL moving forward until after 2017. Responding, H. E. Farid Zarif spoke of how the UN values the quality of its relationship with the Liberian Government. He told Minister Shoniyin that the composition of the UN assessment team shows the importance the UN attaches to the relationship it shares with Liberia. The team includes UN personnel from the UN Secretariat as well as other levels of that body. “The reason for this composition is that the UN wants to develop a very comprehensive understanding of the situation in Liberia and make recommendations for the future,” Mr. Zarif added.

 

Related Captions: Security Council Assessment Team Meets Shoniyin (The NEWS), Acting Foreign Minister B. Elias Shoniyin Meets With Visiting UN Security Council Assessment Team (The INQUIRER)

 

 

 

 

Ellen Congratulates Brazil On 194th Independence Day 

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has conveyed a message of warmest congratulations to the Government and industrious people of the Federative Republic of Brazil on the auspicious occasion commemorating the 194th Independence Anniversary of that country on September 7th. The In Profile Daily quotes a Foreign Ministry release as saying, in the message to her Brazilian counterpart, His Excellency Mr. Micheal Temer, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, President Sirleaf expressed ardent hope that the two countries spend some time during this anniversary to recount the deepened collaboration they continue to enjoy and to chart a new course that further strengthens the cordial existing ties between their two countries.

 

 

Related Captions: Liberia Congratulates Brazil On 194th Independence Day (Heritage), President Sirleaf Congratulates Brazil On 194th Independence Day (Daily Observer)

 

 

Health Regulations’ Deliberation Commences to Combat Threats

 The Liberian Government through the Ministry of Health in collaboration with its international partners has commenced a weeklong assessment on the Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of the implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR). The IHR (2005), if well completed, is an important instrument in assessing every country’s capacity to prevent, protect, control and provide public health response to diseases spreading globally, as Liberia is no exception. The weeklong gathering which is currently taking place at the Golden Gate Hotel in Paynesville, brought together stakeholders from various line ministries and agencies, as well as international health organizations to brainstorm on the way forward, the In Profile Daily reads.

 

Related Caption: Liberia Evaluates Intl Health Regulation (The NEWS), Liberia Hosts Intl Health Regulation Evaluation Meeting..., GOL, Partners Assess Liberia’s Capacity (Heritage)

 

 

OTHER STORIES

 

UN Official To Speak On Strategic Assessment Mission… To Liberia

According to the NEWS newspaper, visiting United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. El Ghassim Wane, will Thursday brief journalists on the visit to Liberia of the Strategic Assessment Mission from the UN Headquarters in New York. The assessment mission arrived in the country August 29 to advance recommendations on the withdrawal of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). The recommendations, among other things, will also seek to transition to a future United Nations presence that would assist the Liberian Government consolidate the peace, considering security conditions on the ground and Liberia’s overall capacity to ensure security and stability following the conclusion of the security transition.

 

Related Caption: UN Official To Speak On Strategic Assessment Mission In Liberia (Heritage)

MICAT Wants PUL Maintain Credibility over closure of media entities

The Deputy Minister of Press and Public Affairs at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), Isaac Jackson, has urged the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) to meticulously deal with the closure of media entities by the government. Recently, the government through the court shutdown Voice FM 102.7, LIB 24, and Love TV owned by businessman Benoni Urey for unpaid taxes netting over US$50,000.00.  However, the PUL has since condemned the closure of the media outlets describing government’s action as clampdown on freedom of speech and expression, but the Deputy MICAT boss has warned that the journalists’ umbrella group should not subject their credibility for alleged financial gains, the In Profile Daily writes.

 

 

WE-CARE Liberia begins Training of Teachers in Bomi, Margibi

 
The Reading Liberia 20/20 program has begun the training of 210 teachers from 30 public and community primary schools in Bomi and Margibi Counties. According to the program Supervisor Mr. Johnson Togba, the schools were grouped in seven clusters with an average of about 30 teachers per cluster. He said the initial five-day training exercise which started on Monday, August 22, 2016 is one of the series of teacher training workshops to be held over the next 18 months. Mr. Togba said that the goals of the workshop are to introduce Reading Liberia Model and framework in teaching literacy in content areas (science, social studies, language arts, etc.), to identify ways teachers can teach reading, writing and critical thinking during lesson delivery and to integrate the Reading Liberia HI-FIVES, the INQUIRER asserts.

         

Redemption Hospital Awards Workers

Three health workers were recently honored for their outstanding roles at the Redemption Hospital in New Kru Town. Florence Sowa, a Registered Nurse, works within the TB/HIV and Chest Clinic; she also holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Satta S. Sherif, who is also a Registered Nurse attends to patients within the Adult Emergency Room and Pauline B. Snogbeh, a Dietician were celebrated as staffers for the month of July 2016. According to the INQUIRER newspaper, the honorees were selected out of 21 participants from 21 departments at the hospital based on punctuality; proper duty procedure, turn over, regularity and working without complaints, amongst others.

 

 

NEGAAO Begins First Livestock Management Training

The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the New Generation of Africa Agriculture Organization (NEGAAO), Moses P. Kollie, has begun his organization’s first livestock management training intended to build the capacity of stakeholders in the agriculture sector. He noted that the practical aspect of the training enables the students to see and get to know firsthand what they are being taught in the classrooms. The lack of productivity over the years, however, is the leading cause of the country’s dependency on foreign food importation. Mr. Kollie recently made the disclosure in Nekalay Town – Lower Johnsonville at the first livestock management training program intended to help build the capacity of people in the agricultural sector, according to the Daily Observer.

 

 

UL Regrets Child’s Death’

According to the Daily Observer, the Vice President for University Relations at the University of Liberia, Norris Tweh, over the weekend expressed the institution’s deep regret over the recent death of a five-year-old boy while playing among debris at the university’s Fendell Campus. Romeo King, 5, died on Wednesday August 10, 2016, after he was crushed under debris from broken walls. Mr. Tweh said the boy’s death was unfortunate and announced that the Ministry of Public Works, in consultation with the UL administration, will remove debris and other structures that pose threats to residents in the area when funds are available. Concerning the development of the land, Mr. Tweh said the university is to shortly constitute the Fendell Land Development Committee (FLDC) to set up a bidding plan for architects to draw a blue print to develop the property.

 

 

 

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