10 November 2009
A Yellow Fever Risk Assessment conducted by the Liberian government through the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with its partners has shown that yellow fever outbreak is imminent in Liberia, but the government and its partners are not playing a wait and see attitude.
Thomas K. Nagbe, the Manager of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) at the Ministry of Health, told journalists at the start of a National Yellow Fever Refresher Training Workshop at the G. W. Gibson High School that Liberia has had so many outbreaks of Yellow Fever between 1995 and now and that 19 deaths have occurred so far.
"We have conducted a Yellow Fever Risk Assessment throughout the country and came to the realization that throughout the country, there is a risk of an outbreak. So if we are sitting on a time bomb of Yellow Fever, knowing that mosquito is responsible, then is cause effective that we protect all the people of this country," he said.
He said the most recent case of outbreak was uncovered in May of this year in Zorzor, Lofa County, noting that though it did not claim any life or lives, it has so far affected one person who is still in critical condition. At the same time, in order to avert any damageable scenario, the government through the Health Ministry has launched a nationwide Yellow Fever Immunization Program which is expected to begin from November 23-29, 2009.
Putting the cost of the nationwide exercise at US$1.1M only for operations and the entire total at US$ 4.4M, Nagbe said the nationwide campaign to fight against an imminent outbreak of Yellow Fever is one of the routine vaccines the Ministry of Health through the EPI program has provided to the people of Liberia.
The EPI program is coordinating the entire vaccine that is the coordinating arm for the campaign for the Ministry of Health.
As part of the exercise, he said 9,200 foot-soldiers are expected to be deployed across the length and breadth of the country, to make sure that about 3 million Liberians are vaccinated against Yellow Fever.
"Each County health team is expected to recruit their foot-soldiers to ensure that entire county is covered. They have selected the communities in which teams are going to be deployed. The strategy being used in this campaign is a fixed one, meaning that we are going to use existing health facilities and there are some temporary sites that we are going to be using too," Nagbe said.
The Minister of Education, he said, has issued letters to schools to allow the ministry of health to use their facilities, adding that they will similarly use churches, mosques and other areas to ensure that every body above 9 months, excluding pregnant women are immunized.
At the same time, the Liberia Crusaders for Peace (LCP) which is heading the Social Mobilization part of the Yellow Fever Vaccination Campaign Saturday began a Training Refresher Workshop for peer educators who will go in the various communities and spread the message to the people.
Dozens of Liberians representing various communities in Monrovia thronged the G.W, Gibson High School as part of the exercise and the LCP's Executive Director, Ambassador Juli Endee expressed happiness at the turnout the selection of her institute to be part of the national healing process. The LCP boss whose institution is partnering with the TDS, Flomo Theatre Production and others described Yellow Fever as an "effectual disease" that cannot be cured but prevented.
"We can use preventive measures because it has no cure. In order for us to do the preventive measures, we must be able to reach out to every community in the republic to create awareness for our people and sensitize them to come out on November 23-29, 2009 f0r the Yellow Fever Vaccination Campaign," Ambassador Endee said.
To the peer educators, she told them that it was their social responsibility to be honest to be able to go out in the community to give what she called "standardized Message" that is being developed by a special task force. She also thanked President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her Government for giving support to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, saying that health is key to the survival of any nation without which nothing can be done. "It is important that we can use health as our social responsibility to promote peace and reconciliation," she said.
Also speaking at the workshop were representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) and and official of the MOH. WHO's Olivia Dennis and MOH's Christiana Dagadu like other speakers highlighted the importance of the yellow fever vaccination because the disease has no cure and that once one takes it, it has the lasting effect of ten years.
Meanwhile, the community outreach awareness will get underway today, beginning with West Point. The LCP and its support units will be on hand to provide awareness and education to Liberians.
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