Here we go again...Not!

It seemed like only yesterday that we were in the middle of another pandemic...Ebola! The world was frightened. The global community mobilized like we have not seen in a long time to fight this horrible disease. Hardest hit was West Africa including Liberia. Per the most recent World Health Organization's latest report on Covid 19 in Liberia, day to day health services are being impacted [Since Liberia confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on 16th March 2020, there has been much attention to COVID 19 response at the detriment of routine health services]. I have also heard it said that because of Liberia's recent experience in fighting Ebola, it was and is better prepared to fight and contain Covid. Current protocols include wearing masks, washing hands, social distancing, etc. as well as shutting down or quarantining communities or sections of towns. These are all too familiar lessons learned in Liberia. The enclosed links show worldwide distribution of Covid 19 by country.

What impresses me most is the strategy being implemented by the Assistant Minister for Statistics and Vital Registration's Mr. Stanford Wesseh when he stated Liberia"s, "...reduction strategy will focus on community ownership, decentralization of treatment facilities, introduction of the home-based care of confirmed cases, scale-up diagnostic services in public & private health facilities, review and down-size the number of response teams and incentive packages, enforce public health safety measures and enhance case detection, through investigations, confirmation and contact tracing, as key actions that would be taken to increase efficiency and sustainability of the response."

I think many countries could learn from Liberia and West Africa. Hopefully, with less pain, but then, that's not always the case. US citizens are currently permitted to travel to Liberia according to the US Embassy in Liberia. In the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Report on the Ebola Pandemic, the lessons learned have fallen woefully short in several countries including the US.. The good news is Liberia has listened and learned!