Contributed By Fatoumata Njei

IPNews-NEW YORK: Over the weekend the New York State Senate and the African Immigrant Commission (AIC) of New York and Connecticut honoured infectious disease scientist, Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan, and several healthcare workers in recognition of their outstanding services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ceremony was part of this year’s commemoration of African Heritage Month 2020.

The US-based Liberian infectious disease expert, Dr. Nyan, along with other Diaspora health experts rendered the African and other minority communities with various services including direct care, contact-tracing, health education, pandemic awareness messages in infectious disease and explaining public health regulations that made an impact which caught the eyes of State authorities and community leaders.

Presenting the Official Citations, State Senator Jamaal T. Bailey thanked the healthcare workers and community leaders for their “sacrifices that saved countless lives during the heat of the pandemic.” Senator Bailey represents the 36th Senate District of the State of New York.

New York was hard hit during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and became the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States.

The shortage of ventilator, testing kits, personal protective equipment and the lack of policy direction from the US federal government placed more burden on the State of New York for which Governor Cuomo took the lead and charge for his State and the country. New York and other States have been seeing another wave of spikes over the past weeks.

The head of the African Immigrant Commission, Mr. Mory Kouatey recognized the “important role healthcare and essential workers played in fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic.” He said that the bus drivers, the cleaners, and other service personnel also play a very big role in the fight against COVID-19.

Other healthcare workers honoured were Dr. Alseny Balde and Dr. Nana Keita from Guinea, and Dr. Issa Turay from Sierra Leone. Several nurses that were honoured included Angela Maina from Kenya; Risi Liwani from Nigeria; Mawa Bility from Liberia; Zain Sesay-Harrell, Ashmawo Bangura, Mariama Fofanah from Sierra Leone, and Elizabeth Corshu an essential worker, among others.

In her remark, Zain Sesay Harrell a professional nurse and official of the Sierra Leonean Nursing Association of the United States said it was a great honour to be recognized by the State of New York.

On behalf of the honourees, Dr. Nyan thanked the State of New York for the recognition and honour and the African Immigrant Commission for highlighting the contributions of African Immigrants to healthcare in the United States and the world.

Dr. Nyan admonished “all professionals to be united in the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 and other diseases and to be innovative so as to contribute to Africa’s self-sufficiency in science, medicine, and technology.”

Dr. Nyan is a medical doctor, a NIH-trained biomedical scientist and inventor of a rapid multiplex diagnostic test for infectious diseases that included the Coronaviruses (COVID-19), HIV/AIDS, Ebola, Dengue, the Hepatitis viruses and many more. The Nyan-Test can detect about 3-7 infectious and simultaneously identify them in less than an hour.