By Seykajipo Amegashie; 0777-594-750; seykajipobartekwa@gmail.com
IPNEWS-Monrovia: On July 19, 2022, the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) officially launched the West African One-Health Actions for Understanding, Preventing and mitigating Outreach of Outbreaks: A Cross-Border Surveillance enhancement project at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in Congo Town.
Giving an overview of the project, Mr. Augustine Mianyen informed the gathering that increased activities in the ecosystem, have amplified the possibility for multi-Species contact and charged host-pathogen dynamics, infection epidemiology, increasing risk of zoonosis and emergence of novel pathogens and humans risk being infected by these species.
Health Minister Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah
He also narrated further that in line with the regional project, they have formed the Community Action Network (CAN) and also selected five border points including Lofa, Grand Cape Mount, Bong, Nimba, and Grand Gedeh Counties.
According to him, these points are established to do information sharing and communication across the region.
Mr. Mianyen named Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and Liberia as countries that are involved with the project and amongst them, Guinea, Nigeria and Liberia have launched except Sierra Leone who he said, will be done later.
EPA Executive Director Prof. Wilson K. Tarpeh
Speaking earlier, representatives of the FAO, WHO, CDC-USA, USAID, made separate remarks welcoming the move by Liberia in joining other West African countries in forging ahead in disease surveillance and mitigation. They pledged their institution’s support to the regional initiative and expressed hope that the countries involved will endeavor to succeed.
In a very brief remark Environmental Protection Agency’s Executive Director, Professor Wilson K. Tarpeh said “anything that has to do with the environment, or that affects the people and ways to maintaining and sustaining the environment, especially with the cross-border surveillance approach, the EPA will lend its support.”
In her remarks, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah stated that what happens to the environment is us not the animals and nothing that the way we manage our environment will make it safe for all of us.
Health Ministry, NPHIL and others at the launch
Dr. Jallah spoke about the need for a Veterinarian to help keep the animals safe by treating them.
Concluding, Min. Jallah indicated that the purpose for One-Health is to increase surveillance and manage our place systematically and not panic.
Launching the Project, NPHIL’s Director General Dr. Amanda McCauley recounted the story that made the region’ a hotspot as a result of increased Human interactions with the ecosystem.
Dr. McCauley mentioned that the intent of the project is to intensify multi-sectional and motivational language for coordination to protect, prevent, and detect cases through surveillance means.
