The Government of Italy has begun enhancing the Liberian Government’s fight against the Ebola virus through several assistance packages to include the dispatching of a mobile laboratory team, additional dispatching of homeopathic Ebola treatment drugs and food.

A Foreign Ministry release discloses that the aid packages followed a series of frantic diplomatic efforts between the Liberian Ambassador to Italy, Ambassador (Dr) Mohamed Sheriff and the Italian Government and other multinational organizations in that European nation.

According to the release, the National Institute for Infectious Disease “Lazzaro Spollanzani” (IRCCS) of Italy in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation disclosed the dispatching of a mobile laboratory team to the MSF Treatment Center in Foya, Lofa County, the epicenter of the deadly Ebola disease.

The release further adds that the team of four member medical experts being headed by Dr. Antonino Dicaro, the Director of the Microbiology Laboratory and Infectious Disease Biorepository arrived in the country Friday, September 5, 2014 at the Roberts International Airport in Margibi County and was received upon arrival by the Foreign Ministry Protocol Officers. Other members of the team include Dr. Frances Colavita, Dr. Angela Cannas, and Ms. Serena Quartu, (a laboratory technician).

The release further discloses that a box containing some homeopathic Ebola treatment drugs has been sent to the Liberian Embassy in Rome, Italy by Dr. Alessandra Manini of the International Emergency Management Organization for onward transmission to the Liberian Health Minister, Dr. Walter Gwenigale.

At the same time, the World Food Program(WFP) in Rome has stepped up the Emergency Assistance and Logistical Support in the fight against the deadly Ebola epidemic in Liberia which has been delivered for quarantined communities in Bomi, Bong, Cape Mount, Grand Bassa, Lofa, Margibi, Montserrado, Nimba and RiverCess Counties for about 39,000 affected persons including 13,500 people in West Point and Dolo’s Town respectively, the release noted.

More than 71 metric tons of food have been delivered to the country’s various health teams in eight counties including Bomi, bong, Cape Mount, Grand Bassa, Lofa, Margibi, Nimba and RiverCess for distribution to some 4,600 people in holding and isolation centers, the Foreign Ministry says.

The distribution in West Point and the Dolo’s Town area are continuing and should cover approximately 57,000 people when completed.

Additionally, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome, Italy has also responded warmly to the Liberian Embassy’s request for support to the Government of Liberia and will soon be making pronouncement as it relates to its assistance to Liberia.

According to the dispatch from the Liberian Embassy in Rome, the humanitarian assistance from the Sovereign Orders of MC (SMOM) in Rome is expected in Liberia soon for a humanitarian mission in the country.