Sacramento, CA – The Liberian media, civil society organizations, and the religious communities in Liberia have been called upon to play a pivotal role in the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
Three former leaders of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), Isaac D.E. Bantu, Gabriel I.H. Williams, and Emmanuel D. Abalo, made the call amidst reports of an alarming infection rate in many parts of Liberia and the government’s failure to provide effective leadership to contain the pandemic.
The former Press Union executives are urgently appealing to media practitioners, political, religious, medical and civic communities, as well as other influencers in and out of the country to lend their voices and resources to encourage Liberians to change their behavior in support of taking the vaccines and adopting all health and sanitary measures.
According to a press release, the former PUL leaders noted that in order to counter disinformation, there must be a focus on science in the promotion of health protocols to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Liberia. “We plead with Liberians to accept that the benefits of being vaccinated and adhering to basic health and sanitary measures far outweigh the side effects or contracting the deadly virus,” they added.
The former PUL leaders stated that the COVID-19 vaccines that are officially available in Liberia are certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be safe. “Accordingly, we are hopeful that taking the vaccines will prevent more deaths, serious illnesses and hospitalization which the population is experiencing,” they said.
The former media executives lament that Liberia is in an unofficial state of national mourning in the wake of the unprecedented wave of death that has recently engulfed the country, taking away many productive citizens who were also breadwinners for their families. The former PUL leaders added that the recent alarming death rate in Liberia is a matter of national emergency, which must be tackled by rebuilding the country’s very broken health system.
“Because of Liberia’s dysfunctional health system, COVID-19 today represents a clear and present danger. This is why we urge Liberian authorities to re-focus resources and a robust public awareness campaign on preventing the spread of the pandemic in major population centers and under-served communities across the country,” the former PUL Executives emphasized.
“We also appeal to international partners, including the United States and the European Union to aid the Liberian Government with a rapid dispatch of vaccines and supplies to assist in the effort of fighting the spread of the pandemic,” the release concluded.