The news of the Conoravirus or COVID – 19 presence in Liberia really scares me! Just the thought of it and comparing my experiences during the Ebola outbreak, sometimes I get lost in my thoughts. And in the wake of the stay home new reality, watching the international news whole day every day is even more traumatic when I see how the numbers are rising exponentially in other countries worldwide.
By Richlue O. Burphy; [email protected]
But then when I see the approach, we are facing this pandemic with, sometimes I want to think that we are still joking. Honestly! I sometimes think that, as a nation and a people, we are not treating the pandemic with a serious face. I’m sadly saying this, but I think it’s the sad reality.
Look at the United States for example. When the virus was waging serious war in China, what was their response? How did the government handle the situation? Did you follow it at the onset?
The brother kept referring to the virus as the ‘Chinese Virus’. He kept saying America ‘had it under control’ and I think that was how and why the virus spread and is spreading that much in the United States. I know some of us think that America’s cases are that high because they are doing more testing but we can focus on that another day.
This continuous denial and mix messaging influenced some Americans; mostly Trump’s supporters to defy many of the public health orders and now see what’s happening in that great country today. Even with some of the best medical practitioners in the world, the United States is still struggling to defend themselves against COVID – 19. The world’s ‘most powerful country’ is vulnerable to the extend that they are now entrusting their lives in the hands of the Chinese. Yes, they are now asking the Chinese to produce masks and other protective gears for them to aid in their own fight against the virus and save their very lives. That’s risky to me.
But let me leave the US and come back home. I listened to Health Minister Wilhemina Jallah declaring a state of health emergency with several preventive measures including social distancing and frequent hands washing to keep the nation save. And recently too, I listened to President George Weah declaring a state of national emergency quarantining the country and locking down counties already reporting cases.
But sadly, it does not take much imagination to consider the likely progression of the coronavirus in Liberia. And when I look at the approach, we are using to manage the situation, especially with all of our experiences from the Ebola outbreak, I wonder if we are serious to prevent this virus or we have forgotten all the lessons from the Ebola. Yea, I really wonder because see, we started with one case, went to three cases and now we have hit the thirty mark.
We were just talking about prevention. And in no time, the virus has defeated us at the prevention stage, it still made its way in our borders and on our shores and now we are about to start running behind it to contain it. Sadly, we lost the first fight at the prevention level and now we have to face the virus at the containment level. Again I ask, how prepared are we? What approach are we using to fight at this new stage?
During the Ebola, I still remember the Listen, Learn and Act model – very clear approach. I remember it because we developed it. As the Digital Outreach and Communications Officer on the Ebola Community Action Platform (ECAP), I played a critical role in the development of this model approach on our social mobilization platform. But today as we face COVID – 19, approach are we using to change people’s behaviors and attitudes in our fight against the virus? Let me put it this way, what behavior change communications strategy do we have or are we putting in place?
Luckily for us Liberians and the African continent at large, the virus has gotten a very slow start on the continent. After our index case in Liberia, our case count was at three for a while which was not the case in many countries around the world. But even at this stage with the just three cases, I think we have not been very effective in applying the contact tracing techniques we learned during the Ebola outbreak. Or we didn’t document the approaches we used? How about if we recruit some of those, we used in our efforts to trace contacts during the Ebola?
Like Liberia, many African countries started putting some measures in place to cut off themselves from Europe, Asia and the rest of the world. One of the earliest approaches, even though we are not well integrated into the global travel routes in the first place, we cut off travel early from some parts of the world early. And those that must travel, we instituted screening measures at our ports of entry to check temperatures, etc. That was good.
It is also rumored that the hot weather on the continent has contributed to the low spread of the virus in Africa. But it’s giving me hard times to believe it because I know of hot countries and regions that are equally hot like Africa, but they have many positive cases. So, it might not be true that hot weather can prevent the spread. Don’t believe it yet.
It is also being said that age has an impact on the infection and subsequent death from the virus. And with a median age of under 20 years old, Africa may be less vulnerable to the worst effects of the virus, at least when compared to countries such as Italy that has a median age of 45 years old. You see how hard they were hit. But I still got one more question, young people are dying too around the around. Young people as young as 6 years as I followed in the news days ago. My wife thinks the young people dying might be as a result of other and underlying health issues, but all the same, young people are dying too.
With all these rumors and myths and misbelieve and everything, sometimes I’d like to think that there might be many more cases of COVID – 19 in Liberia or on the continent that we might not be aware of or that we might not have data on. And I think so because we have issues with testing. There are not many testing opportunities around us. Let’s look at the first few cases in Liberia again. When we noticed them, how long did it take us to carry on the test? How long did these people had to wait for their test results? You see? We clearly have issues here. So then, how about those that are not coming out for testing? How about those that might even want to be tested but no opportunity for testing in their locality? Other then the Samuel Kanyan Doe Sports Complex, how many other testing centers do we have in Liberia?
And now we are talking about social distancing. My doubt here is that we are currently standing on the edge of a cliff. For many places in Liberia that I have visited and worked — from vast urban slums like West Point and New Kru Town to rural communities like Foya in Lofa, Jorquelleh in Bong, or Gbehlay – Geh in Nimba, or Chedepo in River Gee, or Kpayan in Sinoe, or Senjeh in Bomi or Gbarma in Gbarpolu, or Porkpa in Grand Cape Mount, or even Konobo in Grand Gedeh — social distancing will be a hard joke.
Many people make their living in crowded markets in these places and live in crowded housing as you might know that the average household size in Liberia is round 5 persons. And that was the last time I checked. It might even be more now.
Coupled with social distancing, residents in Liberia are being asked to stay at home. As safe as that may sound, have we considered the survival of the millions of Liberians who have to survive from their daily hustle like street selling, ‘table markets’, taxi and bus drivers and ‘pempem’ riders? What provision is our government making for those of us who do not have the bank accounts that we could go to withdraw from to buy food and other needed items to survive on during these lockdowns?
Since our struggling businesses have been shut down, are there anything like stimulus packages to help us survive during these critical times where our nation is faced with this unseen enemy? Should we just sit home and struggle with starvation too?
And as part of the preventive measures, the government is heralding frequent washing of hands. But interestingly, and I don’t know whether the people issuing these directives know that clean water for proper hygiene is really scarce in most part of Liberia. Liberians are still struggling to afford safe drinking water to even drink. Here we are asking them to wash their hands with soap and clean water; the water they can hardly afford to drink. And these are conditions in which the rapid transmission of communicable diseases is not only possible but common as well.
I’m wondering if the people issuing all these directives are from Liberia or whether they live in Liberia. I wonder if they know both the standard and cost of living for the average Liberians here. I wonder if they are issuing these directives considering our livelihoods and settings. They are just hearing these things in other places, seeing people doing them in other countries and so they think we should do same or that it will work for us too? Do they see what the leaders of those countries put in place to support these measures as they instituted them – the free food, electricity, water and even money?
I don’t want to say I believe but sometimes I’d like to think that even the moderate levels of COVID – 19 infection in this country would overwhelm our fragile health system. We are still massively challenged with health issues including malnutrition, cholera, malaria and other diseases. Coupled with COVID – 19, survival might become a rare commodity.
Scholars are already estimating that with the spread of the virus, African countries will need to devote more than $100 billion to fight the coronavirus. But with the fall in prices of key commodities like oil, crashing tourism revenue and lower trade and direct foreign investment to African economies particularly vulnerable to the shock that is about to hit the world. And because that shock will be global in scope, international friends and traditional donor countries might be busy fighting to build back and solve their own economic problems.
As such, there might be little or no attention to African countries. And this mean we will have to fight for our own survival. At this point again, African leadership will be tested! And I wish they will pass the test to restore things to normalcy so that this does not become the new normal.
And at this point, I think we need a strategically and morally grounded president in this country who will quickly identify this predictable disaster early whilst fighting the virus so after the war against COVID – 19, we don’t be caught unaware of the impact of the damage the virus might have caused. At this point, we need leaders who would start thinking ahead of the virus.
What do I think should be done now? Set up a national messaging committee of social and behavior communications professionals to develop a social mobilization platform aimed at community engagements. Let them develop a comprehensive communications strategy and framework that would show a clear roadmap of how communities and every citizen in Liberia could possibly get the message of COVID – 19 and how they can stay safe. Develop and implement public information campaigns with key and simple messages understandable by the general Liberian public and foreign residents too. Revamp a more vigorous contact tracing system so that no contact would be left out. Direct funding properly, appropriately and with honest, discipline and patriotism. Provide daily COVID – 19 updates to the public through major media institutions to keep the public calm, motivated in the fight and updated about the progress we are making as a nation and a people. Make the fight a joint effort of government, international and national partners, civil society organizations, businesses, and religious institutions. Don’t make this a money-eating opportunity to steal from the Liberian people and cripple them more.
Let’s fight the virus together and for one another. Let’s stay safe to stay alive. Let’s safe lives. The life you save could be your own life. Remember, in union, strong success is sure! I believe we will over all prevail. This too shall pass.