MONROVIA – Since the declaration of state of emergency by the government of Liberia, Welthungerhilfe (WHH), formally German Agro Action (GAA) has accomplished the distribution of over 6,000 handwashing kits to communities in the two counties of Montserrado and Margibi.
In addition, Welthungerhilfe has renovated a 52 rooms dormitory at the University of Liberia, Fendell Campus to be used by the Ministry of Health as a COVID-19 quarantine facility. Welthungerhilfe will also equip the facility with household items for use by quarantined persons. Welthungerhilfe is planning a COVID-19 response intervention in the South-East of Liberia (Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, River Gee, Sinoe and Maryland) to support the Government of Liberia’s efforts to curb the spread of the virus.
The South-Eastern counties of River Gee, Grand Gedeh and Maryland border Côte d’Ivoire. Côte d’Ivoire has reported 1,912 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of May 13th. This increase in the number of cases across the border poses a serious threat to inhabitants living in the South East region of the country.
Welthungerhilfe through the WASH Pillar of the National Incident Management System (IMS) is currently carrying out pilot distribution of handwashing kits (25 liter buckets, chlorox, powder soap and mixture measurement guide) to several households in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County ahead of a large distribution exercise of over 6,000 handwashing kits targeting all 58 communities. Apart from the distribution of handwashing kits in Grand Gedeh County, Welthungerhilfe is also carrying out renovation works of changing the roofing sheets at the Rally Town Hospital in Grand Kru County and restoring the piped water system at the isolation unit in Fishtown, River Gee County. Additional works at the Fishtown hospital include plans to drill a borehole and repair of the isolation unit. The isolation unit was constructed by Welthungerhilfe during the Ebola outbreak.
Welthungerhilfe wishes to clarify that the distribution of handwashing kits in Grand Gedeh County and the renovation activities at the Rally Town Hospital in Grand Kru County are supported with funding from the German government and the European Union and is therefore not the initiative of an individual as is being speculated in the social media and other media platforms.
Welthungerhilfe’s initiatives are to support the Government of Liberia’s COVID-19 response during this difficult time through different pillars at the national IMS. Welthungerhilfe donated three used vehicles (2 Renault saloon cars and a hard-top 4×4 Toyota Landcruiser) to scale up surveillance and contact tracing. In the coming days, Welthungerhilfe will support the airing of approved jingles in five counties of the South-East through the Risk Communications Pillar of the national IMS. As a long-standing partner of the Government and people of Liberia, Welthungerhilfe is committed to support the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in the country.