IPNEWS – Monrovia: APM Terminals has rolled out a COVID-19 vaccination program aimed at vaccinating all stakeholders of the Freeport of Monrovia, in line with the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign.
As part of the campaign, operators of the Freeport of Monrovia, workers, relatives of workers, port officials, port users and customers have received either the Astrazeneca or Johnson & Johnson jabs under the supervision of health personnel from the Ministry of Health.
After five rounds of vaccination sessions, nearly 2,000 people, including APM Terminals and NPA staff, sailors, stevedores, custom brokers, truckers, government agents, other port users as well as community members, have been vaccinated through this program.
In a brief statement on the rationale of the program, the Managing Director of APM Terminals Liberia, Mr. Jonathan Graham, said because the company prioritizes the health and safety of its workers and stakeholders, it became expedient to initiate vaccination campaign against the deadly virus.
He commended authorities from the Ministry of Health and National Port Authority (NPA) for the support given the port community to keep thriving, despite threats and disruptions posed by the pandemic.
“As a company at the heartbeat of the Liberian economy, our people are our biggest resources. We have always placed their health and safety above every other consideration and it is why we are on this campaign getting everyone vaccinated to protect them from the virus,” Mr. Graham said.
“Our goal is not only to protect our stakeholders so that together we are resilient to help grow the Liberian economy but also to encourage the wider community to heed to all of the measures being rolled out by the Ministry of Health. We thank the Ministry of Health, the NPA, County Health directorate, customs, stevedore union, our staff for their immense support and participation in this program,” Graham added.
During the health campaign, Montserrado County Health Officer Dr. Yatta Sackie Wapoe, who has been supervising the administration of the jabs, said she is encouraged by the discipline and show of enthusiasm that the staff and partners of APM Terminals have shown towards the program.
Dr. Wapoe recounted that APM Terminals has demonstrated remarkable corporate leadership in the fight against covid-19 and that the latest vaccination was a further testimony to that.
She admonished port workers and other users to fully embrace the program and take the jabs for their own safety.
“For us to succeed in the fight against COVID-19, we will need strong support from the corporate sector not only in terms of logistics and financial support, but compliance with all the initiatives we are rolling out. APMT- Liberia has been a worthy partner on this cause and this vaccination drive is a further testimony to that,” Dr. Wapoe stated.
Over the last year, APM Terminals Liberia’s has focused its support primarily in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic in the country that has swept the world and severely impacted the global community.
In addition to activities to keep employees and their families safe, the company has also extended support to communities and local authorities to help combat the pandemic and mitigate its impact.
This includes, distribution of hand washing stations in district 13, Montserrado in March 2020, the donation of 1,000 25kg bags of rice to the National Youth Task Force against Covid-19 in May 2020, the donation of COVID PPE (10,000 disposable masks, 10,000 disposable examination gloves and 300 Isolation gowns) to the COVID task force in July 2020 and the donation of 1,000 COVID-19 PCR test kits to the COVID task force in August 2020.
Some members of the port community who have already taken the jabs have been encouraging their colleagues and others in other communities to get vaccinated by posting about their vaccinated status on social media.
Key beneficiaries of this program are members of the Stevedore union whose leader William Kieh Moore Sr. has commended APM Terminals for this exercise.
“We are glad that APMT considers our health and safety a priority and has included us in this vaccination exercise. We thank them very much. Together with our families, we have been vaccinated and we encourage all Liberians to get vaccinated,” Mr. Moore said.
The exercise, which has also been extended to members of the Doe Community outside the port area, has drawn the interest of other communities: one of which is the Billimah Community. Heads of that community are asking APMT to extend the gesture to them, too, due to growing trust in the campaign and other CSR projects.
