Stopping Ebola requires everyone doing their part.
Day by day,Liberia is moving toward its goal of zero cases of Ebola. There are positive signs in many areas. Last week the Chinese Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) released its first three Ebola survivors. The Chinese ETU alsoreported that its medical teamcompleted their rotation and a new team of health care workers was welcomed. We were happy to celebrate their success. Around the country, fewer numbers of Liberians are becoming sick with Ebola. One reason for this success is the dedication of Liberian families, communities, and local governments. Lofa County has gone more than 70 days without having a reported case, but theircounty IMS team remains active in the response.They understand that Ebola can come back in a hurry. We salute Lofa County for its vigilance.
More than half of the cases in Liberia are reported in Montserrado County. We have a strong public health team in Montserrado County and a new strategy for the response there. They are making good progress, but they cannot do it alone. Everyone in Montserrado County must to do their part. Families, churches, businesses, hospitals, healthcare workers, and others all have a role to play. Never touch sick people or things they have used. Speak out when you know about a sick person. Call 4455 and tell your community leader.If a sick person with Ebola gets to treatment quick quick, they have a better chance of survival. Do not hide sick people. Do not let others hide sick people. Stopping Ebola is everybody’s business.
Working together we will beat Ebola. Liberia has come a long way since its first case in March of 2014, but we have further to go. We must get our children back into school safely. We must build our health care system so that Liberians can get the care they need. The situation is fragile, but we can do these things, day by day, and bring this epidemic to an end.
Looking beyond Liberia’s borders to Guinea and Sierra Leone.
As the Ebola response in Liberia moves forward, we must watch carefully what is happening in our neighboring countries, Guinea and Sierra Leone. As of January 20, a total of 2,873 cases were reported in Guinea, and 10,362 cases were reported in Sierra Leone. The numbers of new cases in these two countries have started to decline, but both countries have a long way to go. We have seen how easy it is for sick people to cross our borders. In December, a person sick with Ebola crossed the border from Guinea into Nimba County, where no cases had been reported for more than 60 days.
We are working closely with partners and with the governments of Guinea and Sierra Leone to address the border situation. We had a good meeting with the leaders of Guinea, and we are working to send a medical team to Sierra Leone. We need to do good laboratory testing for Ebola in the border regions.
We will continue to look at ways to improve cross-border protection.
The problem of Ebola extends beyond the borders of Liberia to the rest of West Africa. Beyond West Africa to the entire African continent. Beyond Africa to the rest of the world. Ebola is a global health problem, and it will take global resources to stop it. Working together, Liberia can show the entire world how to overcome Ebola.Montserrado County launches new sector approach.
Last weekend Montserrado County began a new phase of the county’s Ebola response, called the sector approach. The new approach was developed by Montserrado County health leadership in coordination with partners. It divides the county into four sectors, which each has a team of specialists from different fields. The sector approach is designed to support a faster, more nimble response. It will speed up response times, strengthen case management, and improve efficiencies in the way resources are managed.
As the course of the outbreak changes, so too must the way we respond to it. The approach that took us from more than 100 confirmed cases a day to under 5 cases a day is not the same approach we need now. We need rapid response, good case management, thorough case tracing, and real-time community engagement. The sector approach allows us to bring these things go together. With support from our communities, this is the approach we believe will get is to zero cases in Montserrado County.
Ebola Must Go. Stopping Ebola is everybody’s business.
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