THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia.

NEWS SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

News of the signing of 11.4M grant by the Government of Liberia and African Development Bank, US Ambassador Deborah Malac’s clarification that the US troops in Liberia are not here to unseat government but to help fight Ebola, U.S. Military arrival with Mobile Ebola Testing Labs, and a Ugandian Medical Doctor’s request for the donation of Blood – to fight  the Ebola virus  are  dominant stories captured in today’s local dailies.

DOMINANT STORIES

Liberia Gets US$11.4 Million From ADB

The African Development Bank has provided a grant of US$11.4 Million to the Government of Liberia in support of its current fight against the deadly Ebola virus. Deputy Health Minister for Preventive Services, Tolbert Nyenswah, has described the bank’s gesture as timely. Minister Nyenswah said portion of the money will be used to construct community care centers in Ebola hit communities around the country. He noted that there have been some improvements in combating the virus since international partners like the African Development Bank, World Bank, and IMF begun providing financial aid to Liberia. Signing for the grant on behalf of the Liberian government, Finance Minister Amara Konneh, thanked the bank for the money, New Dawn Reports.

Related Caption: GOL and African Development Bank Sign 11.4M Grant (Front Page Africa), ADB Gives Liberia US$1M to Support Ebola Fight (Heritage newspaper), ADB Gives $11.4M (New Democrat)

U.S. Troops Not In Liberia To ‘Overthrow’ Ellen, Envoy Says

The U.S. Ambassador Deborah Malac envoy has made it emphatically clear at a news conference Monday that U.S. troops are in the country strictly to help Liberia battle the deadly and menacing Ebola outbreak and nothing more, Front Page AfricaReports

Related Caption: “No Coup Plot” U.S. Ambassador makes Clarity (Insight newspaper), “U.S. Military not Here to Change Government’ (Daily Observer), US Troops not here to Unseat Government Ambassador Refutes Rumor (Inquirer newspaper)

To Fight Ebola In Liberia: U.S. Military Brings In Mobile Ebola Testing Labs & Other Supplies

U.S. military C-17s landed at Roberts International Airport at the weekend carrying key pieces of U.S. military equipment to aid in the anti-Ebola fight: two mobile Ebola testing labs and equipment to build the 25-bed head hospital for health care workers. The mobile labs will be placed at the Ebola Treatment Centers (ETUs) at Island Clinic and in Bong County, and are expected to be operational this week, Heritage reports.

Related Caption: U.S. Military Mobile Ebola Testing Labs (The NEWS), U.S. Military Brings In Mobile Ebola Testing Labs (In Profile Daily)

Ugandan Doctor Calls For More Blood Donation To fight Ebola…Describes Liberia’s Ebola Species As “Strange And Deceptive”

The head of a medical team of volunteers from Uganda has stressed the need for more blood donation to various ETUs as one of the surest ways of fighting the Ebola Virus Disease. Dr. Ane Deborah Atai-Omoruto wants Philanthropists and kind-hearted individuals to donate blood to help save the lives of thousands of Liberians who are facing the life threatening EVD, Heritagereports.

Related Caption: Calls For Blood – To Fight Ebola (In Profile Daily)

Red Cross Trains 20 Psycho-Social Volunteers

The Liberia National Red Cross Society (LNRCS) has trained 20 volunteers to provide Psycho-Social Service (PSS) to victims of the Ebola disease. According to the LNRCS Project Coordinator of the Women Training and Integration Project , Madam Joyous Momoh, those trained will engage in Counseling, Psycho-education and Case Management for Ebola victims. She told the Liberia News Agency in Tubmanburg at the weekend that the 20 volunteers,  who have been trained to deal with people with psycho-social case due to the Ebola crisis, will also provide services in the area of Contact Tracing, The NEWS reports.

Liberia Committed To Working with US, Partners ‘ Will Cut Bureaucratic Red Tape’…VP Boakai

Vice President Joseph N. Boakai has reiterated the Liberian Government’s commitment to partnering with a international community including the United States of America to tackle the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in the country. During a brief discussion with a US delegation comprising Ambassador Deborah Malac and Major General Darryl A. Williams, Commander of the U.S. Army in Africa at his Capitol Building offices, Daily Observer reports.

Gov’t Brings In 12 Ambulances…As Ebola Now Reaches The 15 Counties

The Ebola Case Management head and Assistant Health Minister for Preventive Service, Mr. Tolbert Nyenswah, has disclosed that 12 Ambulances recently procured by the Government of Liberia (GOL) are promptly responding to the Ebola outbreak in the country. Minister Nyenswah said the response effort is ongoing well and it is sure that Ebola will be eradicated now that patients are being transported safely to the various Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs), The Inquirer newspaper reports.

 Phebe Hospital gets Huge Donation as Nurses receive Risk Benefits, others

An inside story of the INSIGHT news paper reports that the Administration and staff of the Phebe Hospital in Bong County now have all reasons to smile and continue providing professional medical services in the wake of the Ebola crisis. The hospital is amongst several medical institutions in the country that was hard hit as the result of the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, leaving some of its nurses and other health workers dead. The  Act Alliance Liberia Forum with support from Geneva over the week visited the Phebe hospital in Bong County and dedicated the newly constructed modern Ebola Case management Center and made a huge donation including the settlement of the issue of Risk Benefits for nurses and health workers, among others.

  UNMIL Approves US$22.9 K For Bassa Ebola Task Force

 The United Nations Mission in Liberia has approved a cash donation of US$22, 965 AND Grand Bassa County Task Force to aid in the fight against the Ebola virus. Of the amount, US$18, 370 have been given to the Task Force in cash and kind, according to the acting spokesman of the County Ebola Task Force, Eddie Williams. Williams said US$7,150 will be distributed among the seven districts in Bassa for a period of two months for community awareness and US$1,500 to five community radios, excluding the LACSA Community Radio Station at the Liberia Agriculture Company (LAC), for Ebola awareness, the News newspaper writes.

Egypt Joins Ebola Fight in Liberia

The Arab Republic of Egypt has presented an assortment of Ebola fighting medicine and personal protective equipment to the Liberian Government. At a formal ceremony held at the Egyptian Embassy in Sinkor on Friday, Egyptian Ambassador Semah Lotti Abd El  Hady said his country was pleased to join donors helping Liberia fight the Ebola virus. The state owned Liberia News Agency (LINA) quotes Ambassador Hady as saying the consignment, valued at US$57,000 was Egypt’s initial contribution, the News newspaper reports.