THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia.

NEWS SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

Today’s summary of the local dailies include the International Committee of the Red Cross’ two trucks donation to the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation for the dislodging of liquid waste from Ebola Treatment Units and the United Nations Development Program, the Government of Liberia and the World Bank’s 3-day discussion on the harmonization of the Social Cash Transfer Program implementation plan.

DOMINANT STORIES

ICRC Donates Trucks For Ebola Waste Removal

The FOCUS newspaper reports that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has donated two state-of-the-art trucks to the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC) for the dislodging of liquid waste from Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs). Since the beginning of this year, the ICRC has been providing the LWSC with technical support for the safe disposal of contaminated sewage from ETUs in Monrovia. The daily writes that 17 LWSC staff members have been trained by the ICRC on Infection, Prevention and Control measures as well as in the use of the trucks. Following strict safety protocols and under the supervision of ICRC experts, the crew has recently completed the removal of 270 cubic meters of Ebola contaminated waste from four ETUs in the capital.  “We have put in place a system which ensures that all the Ebola liquid waste is treated safely explained Samuel Levy, ICRC team leader for this project. According to the daily, the dislodging of ETUs is a joint project led by LWSC, in which a number of local and international partners have cooperated, including the Ministry of Health, Monrovia City Corporation (MCC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), UNICEF, World Health Organization (WHO), International Rescue Committee (IRC) and ICRC. In addition to the trucks, ICRC will provide the LWSC with the necessary chemicals to carry out the operations.

Related Captions: Trucks For Dislodging Ebola Waste(In Profile Daily), ICRC Donates Two Trucks For Ebola Waste(The Inquirer)

UNDP, Partners Hold Discussion

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Government of Liberia (GoL) and the World Bank (WB), Wednesday commenced a 3-day discussion on the harmonization of the Social Cash Transfer (SCT) Program implementation plan in Monrovia. The SCT Program is a UNDP, WB supported initiative that seeks to transfer cash to labor constrained and Ebola Virus disease (EVD) affected households including survivors in Liberia, pens the In Profile Daily.

Related Captions: UNDP Dialogues With Partners On Harmonizing Social Cash Transfer(The New Dawn), UNDP, Partners Hold Discussion On Harmonizing Social Cash Transfer Programe(Heritage)

OTHER STORIES

US To Support Center For Disease Control In Africa

According to the Daily Observer, the United States Government and African Union have signed a memorandum of understanding in which the US has pledged to support with experts and equipment the establishment of Africa’s Center for Disease Control (CDC).  At a recent signing ceremony held between US Secretary of State John Kerry and African Union Commission Chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in Washington, D.C., Kerry said the establishment of a CDC in Africa should not be predicated upon Ebola, but should cope with health threats of every kind and enable countries throughout the region to share information and build their capacities to prevent, detect, and treat outbreaks of epidemic diseases. “Under the new memorandum,” said Kerry, “Our CDC will provide expert technical help to support surveillance and response units and an emergency operations center as well as provide fellowships for African epidemiologists who will provide their services to the new center in Addis Ababa”.  Recalling the presence of Ebola in West Africa and other parts of the world, Mr. Kerry indicated that the disease is not withering away by accident but due to the assistance the United States and other international partners provided to affected countries that overcame the epidemic. “Early on, the African Union deployed medical personnel and helped to coordinate a very effective response. President Obama dispatched 3,000 American troops to build treatment centers and assist in training health workers. And all told, my government contributed more than $1 billion to ease the crisis, and today we continue working closely with all the parties. And I’m pleased that in a few minutes we’re going to sign the Memorandum of Cooperation in support of the AU’s very bold plan to establish an African version of the American Centers for Disease Control,” he noted.  He stressed that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa which extended in part to other countries, including the United States is a test, cautioning people to be vigilant to prevent another outbreak as the worst is falling behind.

Plan Int'l To Promote Access To Safe Water In Schools

The INSIGHT newspaper reports that Plan International Liberia has disclosed that it has received €600,000 from the European Union (EU) to promote access to safe water in schools across the country. According to Plan Liberia County Director, Mr. Koala Oumarou, the fund would not only be used to provide safe water in 104 schools across the country and at the same time promote girls' education. "We want to see a learning environment where our children especially, the girls can have access to safe drinking water, good hygiene system," Oumarou said.