The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the Liberia Crusaders for Peace (LCP), has officially launched a cross-border synchronized Ebola prevention
and intervention community engagement awareness in Ganta, Nimba County.
The cross-border awareness, according to Liberia Cultural Ambassador Juli Endee, is to create more understanding of the deadly Ebola virus by carrying out door-to-door social mobilization community engagements, peace building and contact tracing in four counties of Liberia bordering Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Amb. Endee said residents of Nimba County were resilient in the fight, and praising the Incident Management System, the national supervisory body in the anti-Ebola fight, for being very effective.
Speaking at the ceremony, UNICEF Representative Joanna Clinton called on Nimbaians to be engaged actively in the fight against the killer disease.
“We all can join this fight by reporting all sick cases to our town chiefs and not escaping to the bushes with our people when they are sick. Let’s continue washing our hands and making sure to observe all of the preventive measures that were shown us by Ministry of Health and report all cases by calling 1313,” she cautioned.
Clinton said UNICEF would continue providing more support in making sure that Ebola is eradicated from the country.
During the launch, several survivors in Ganta told their stories and highlighted they were being stigmatized.
Some of the survivors lost almost all of their family members to the killer virus.
A 37 year-old woman, Ms. Lydia Sanagon, said it was frustrating for every member of a family to die.
“They should stop pushing us away,” she said.
Amanda Konnah, 32, said “My friends who used to come around me and sleep with me and did things together have all gone away from me. When they come, they no longer come close to me; they stand at a distance and speak to me.”
She called for more community outreach in various communities across the country to educate Liberians that those who survive Ebola cannot pass it on to others once they are declared free and certificated by the health authorities.
This is the only way by which Ebola survivors can be accepted in their respective communities, the female Ebola survivor said.
Nimba County Health Officer, Dr. Collins Bowah, reminded Liberians to remain focused in the fight against the Ebola virus, adding, “It is not over until it is all over.”
According to him, Liberians need to be careful about how they close borders and move about their activities, warning that the Ebola could resurface if those preventive measures are not put into place.
He applauded the Liberia Crusaders for Peace and partners for their efforts in the fight against the Ebola virus, and that cross-border awareness was crucial in eradicating the virus.