Liberia News

WHO and Ministry of Health teams in Guinea and Liberia have established epidemiological links between new Ebola cases in Liberia and a current flare-up of Ebola in neighbouring Guinea following intensified case investigations and contact tracing.

Monrovia, Liberia, 15th February 2016 - Liberia continues to register progress in her efforts to respond to the health status of the Liberian population through building a resilient health system. A robust Health Emergency Risk Management System has been developed through building public health capacity for prevention, preparedness, alert and response for disease outbreaks and other threats.

30th September 2015, Monrovia - The Liberian Ministry of Health is working to strengthen the supply chain management system, a key strategic area of theInvestment Plan for Building a Resilient Health System (2015- 2021). This is to ensure accessibility and availability of drugs and medical supplies at all levels to reduce wastage. To build the county health teams supply chain management system, 15 County Pharmacists and 17 Supply Chain Coordinators have been recruited and deployed by the Ministry of Health.

The World Health Organization convened 75 mental health experts to discuss the social and mental health impacts of the Ebola epidemic in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and ways to strengthen response plans in the event of a future Ebola outbreak.

Update from the field
4 April 2016

WHO and Ministry of Health teams in Liberia and Guinea are investigating the origins of transmission in Liberia’s latest flare-up after learning that a woman who died from Ebola in Liberia last week had recently travelled from Guinea with her three young children.

Monrovia, 28 January 2016 - During a high-level meeting held on 18-20 January, the Ministry of Health of Liberia moved a step forward with plans for the establishment of a national public health institute (PHI). This is one of the priority components of the Liberia plan for building a resilient health system 2015-2021.

The road to the 200-bed Redemption Hospital in Monrovia is unpaved. During the rainy season it is full of potholes and mud. Patients may have difficulty arriving, but they come, because Redemption is the only public facility in the area and serves some 90 000 people. In August 2014, the hospital was at the center of the Ebola epidemic in Liberia. It quickly became overwhelmed and, for a time, had to close its inpatient department.

Over a month has passed since Ebola transmission ceased in Liberia. This hard-fought achievement is still being celebrated across the country, where nearly 11,000 people became infected with the virus and 4,800 died. Liberia is still urging communities not to let their guard down until Ebola is gone from the region. They are working closely with WHO and other partners to keep Ebola from re-emerging.

Monrovia 22 June, 2016: Ministry of Health Liberia launched the World Blood donor Day on 21stJune under the theme “Blood connects us all” and a slogan ‘save a life donate blood’. This theme highlights the dimension of sharing and the connection between blood donors and patients. Access to safe blood and blood products is in line with the Investment plan to building a resilient health system.

Liberia, 9 June 2016 – Today the World Health Organization (WHO) declares the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia. This announcement comes 42 days (two 21-day incubation cycles of the virus) after the last confirmed Ebola patient in Liberia tested negative for the disease for the second time. Liberia now enters a 90-day period of heightened surveillance to ensure that any new cases are identified quickly and contained before spreading.