Monrovia — The Liberia National Police, in collaboration with the Motorcycle and Tricycle Union, signed a memorandum of understanding on road and public safety on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, aiming to enhance public safety and ensure the safety of motorists.

By Victoria G. Wesseh

Hon. Nelson Freeman, Deputy Police Inspector for Operations, signed the MOU on behalf of the police, while Mr. John Kenyor, the president of the Motorcycle and Tricycle Union, signed for his organization.

Hon. Freeman, speaking at the police headquarters during the signing ceremony, stated that the MOU was agreed upon on April 2, 2024, but it will take effect on May 15, 2024.

He mentioned that over the last month, the police have conducted a safety campaign to ensure safety measures for Liberian society.

“Today, we address the issue of Motorcyclists, next, we will engage with the truck drivers union and other stakeholders affected by the police safety measures. We aim to create conditions wherein drivers plying the streets will observe all safety rules,” he stated.

He further explained that, according to the MOU, both the police and the Union have agreed to designate the roads from Freeport to Central Monrovia and all parts of town as restricted areas for the movement of motorcycles.

The Deputy Inspector General for Operations elaborated that the route from ELWA junction through Tubman Boulevard and the rest of Monrovia will also be designated as a restricted area for motorcycles.

He added that, similarly, Kehkeh riders will be allowed to ride from Freeport through Clara Town and Via Town areas. However, Kehkeh riders will not be permitted to use the new bridge but must use the old bridge leading to Waterside and other areas.

The Deputy Police boss asserted that Kehkeh en route from Airfield and New Matadi will use the Jallah Town road to Benson Street corridors to enter town. Kehkeh riders will be allowed to use the Japan Freeway and also the ELWA to RIA route, he stated.

Mr. John Kenyor, president of the union, pledged his group’s support for the MOU.

Mr. Kenyor stressed the importance of respecting the agreement between both parties, as there will be punishments for violators.

MONROVIA – The Nyan Scholarship Program (NSP), sponsored by the acclaimed Liberian biomedical scientist and inventor, Dr. Dougbeh Christopher Nyan, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the SOS-Liberia to collaborate in training of professional nurses for the Liberian healthcare system. 

The MOU enables the NSP to place its nurse-graduates at the SOS Medical Center for clinical internships in addition to internship placements at the Harbel Firestone Du-Side Hospital in Margibi County and the SDA Cooper Memorial Hospital in Monrovia.

“I am very pleased about the Nyan Scholarship Program collaborations with the various medical entities in providing practical and skill training for our nurses in the country, and this is setting a high standard for in-country training of medical professionals,” Dr. Nyan said.

He added that, “we do like to thank Mr. Prosper N’dione, Country Director of the SOS-Liberia and Dr. Lamine Cisse, the Medical Director of the SOS Medical Center for the opportunity to collaborate in training professional nurses for the Liberian healthcare delivery system.”

SOS (“Societas Socialis”) Children’s Villages was established in 1949 after World War II by a young Austrian medical student, Hermann Gmeiner, to cater to abandoned children and orphans. The organization is active in 136 countries and territories, including Liberia where the SOS Children’s Village-Liberia has been catering to the health, educational, and developmental welfare of children, and strengthening families since 1981 through its core programs and medical center.

Under the new MOU, three 2022 nurse-graduates, namely Diamond Wesseh, Musu Dunn, and Carmella Pierre, are currently placed at the SOS Medical Center in Congo Town, Monrovia for internship as volunteers, while one graduate, Salomie David, is at the SDA Cooper Memorial Hospital for clinical internship rotation.

The four NSP-sponsored nurses earned their bachelor of science degrees in nursing (BSN) from the Winfred J. Harley College of Health Sciences of the United Methodist University and licensed by the Liberian Board of Nurses.

About 9 additional NSP-sponsored students (Varlee Kamara, John Bestman, Jamie Alpha, Wilfred Barjaye, Philip Nowiney, P. Christopher Jallah, Otis Darbeh, Victoria Quitee, Dianna Clay) who are graduating seniors of the Diana Kay Isaacson School of Midwifery in Grand Gedeh County, have been assigned at various hospitals in Southeastern Liberia for clinical affiliations.

During the past four years, the NSP has been sponsoring and training a cohort of about 35 students in the healthcare fields of nursing, midwifery, and in public health at the United Methodist University, Kampala International University, the University of Liberia, and the Diana Kay Isaacson School of Nursing and Midwifery.

The Nyan Scholarship Program (NSP) is a highly competitive scholastic program established since 2002 by Dr. Dougbeh Christopher Nyan in honour of his grandfather, the legendary warrior, orator, and oral-historian, Jack Sunday Saah-Nyan. The scholarship program has privately sponsored the educational process of an array of students in medicine, nursing, midwifery, and public health since then and is administered by Ginette Adelyn Sowu-Nyan, Randolph Ben-Davies, Grace Jarsoh, and Tepenty Young.

The sponsor, Dr. Dougbeh Christopher Nyan, is the globally acclaimed inventor of the Rapid Multiplex Real-Time Pathogen Diagnostic Test (the NYAN TEST) which detects and simultaneously identifies 3 to 7 infections using just one test.

During the last two semesters, Dr. Nyan served as an unpaid volunteer visiting professor who taught and lectured at various academic and medical institutions in Liberia and Ghana in the fields of biology, medicine, laboratory science, and public health. He is currently Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of Shufflex Biomed, his start-up company that develops multiplex diagnostic testing kits.

MONROVIA- The Liberia National Police has signed an MOU with Medica Liberia to integrate SGBV including Stress and Trauma-Sensitive Approach in dealing with SGBV cases in the basic police training curriculum at the Liberia National Police Academy and Training School. This will help the police to be equipped to handle SGBV-related cases.

This MOU will ensure that all police recruits of the policy academy are trained in handling cases involving Sexual and Gender-Based violence using a Stress and Trauma Sensitive Approach.

The LNP curriculum will incorporate essential topics, including investigation of SGBV cases, provision of trauma-sensitive services, child-related GBV, human trafficking, domestic violence, and harmful traditional practices.

medica Liberia is a women’s rights organization that provides SGBV cases for survivors of Gender Based violence, amongst others. One of the major cornerstones of Medica Liberia’s approach is its commitment to quality response services that prioritize the safety and protection of women and girls.

Over the years, Medica Liberia has conducted trauma-sensitive SGBV training for officers of the Liberian National Police, specifically within the Women and Children Protection Section.

While the training has had positive impacts, there have also been gaps thus needing a more institutionalized approach.

In this direction, mL and the LNP will work collaboratively to integrate SGBV within the Police Academy Curriculum. The objective is to expand capacity-building programs and provide the knowledge and skills required to combat SGBV at the very core of law enforcement. 

Police Inspector General Col. Patrick L. Sudue signed on behalf of the Liberia National Police and Atty. Yah Vallah Parwon, Director of Medica Liberia, signed on behalf of Medica Liberia.

At a press conference held on September 1, 2023, at the Liberian National Police headquarters, key stakeholders, including Medica Liberia, the Liberia National Police, the Judiciary Training Institute (JI), the Women and Children Protection Section (WACPS), the Liberia National Police Training Academy, Duport Road Health Center One Stop Center, the Ministry of Justice SGBV Crimes Unit, and more, came together to brief the media and the general public about the details and expected impact of the MOU.”

Representing the Inspector General, Deputy Commissioner of Police, and Chief Legal Counsel of the Liberia National Police Atty. Peter K. Gbanyah read the preamble of the MOU on behalf of the LNP.

He also stressed the importance of the MOU in the development and training of new recruits at the Liberia National Police Training Academy. He highlighted the commitment of the Inspector General of the LNP to the MOU and promised to work closely with Medica Liberia in fulfilling the clauses of the MOU.

Atty. Gbanyah resounded the importance of collaboration with partners to ensure the safety and security of the Liberian People. 

 “As you know the LNP is the premiere institution that runs the internal security of the state, and one of our functions is collaboration. In the absence of collaboration, the LNP cannot work efficiently. So, I am happy to see Medica Liberia collaborating with the LNP, especially with the Women and Children Protection Section (WACPS)”. Atty. Gbayan.

Deputy Police Commissioner of Training and Manpower Development at the LNP Training Academy, Moses Tamba Sebor II, represented Commissioner Jarty Kollie Golafaley. He commended Medica Liberia for their initiative and emphasized the importance of this program for the development of the police force’s human resources.

Duannah M. D. Boakai Special Assistant Chief of Section of the Women and Children Protection Section spoke on behalf of Asst. Comm. Susie Telleh described the signing as a great milestone for the WACPS division, especially when it comes to their sustainability plan”.

He thanked the National Police Training Academy for welcoming the idea and for working closely with Medica Liberia to include SGBV/STA in the national Police Training Curriculum.

For her part, Atty. Yah V. Parwon, Country Director – Medica Liberia spoke on behalf of Medica Liberia. She extended appreciation to the Women and Children Protection Section of the Liberia National Police, and the Police training academy. She recommitted Medica Liberia’s drive to ensure safety and protection for women, girls, and children through the delivery of quality response services.

” As we come together to commemorate the signing of this MOU between Medica Liberia and The Liberia National Police, this occasion reflects our collective pursuit for justice and human rights in Liberia with a focus on our commitment to eradicating Sexual and Gender Based-Violence in Liberia”. Atty. Yah Vallah Parwon.

medica Liberia, formerly Medica Mondiale Liberia, is a non-governmental women’s rights organization working in Liberia. The organization works with survivors of Gender-Based violence and provides a holistic stress and trauma-sensitive approach that incorporates health, legal, and psychosocial approaches based on feminist principles.

MONROVIA – A non-legally binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between AIFO-Liberia, Liberia Opportunities Industrialization Center Inc (LOIC), and the National Commission on Disabilities-NCD. The MOU aims to ensure that people with disabilities have opportunities to obtain skills training.

By: Henry Karmo henry.karmo@frontpageafricaonline.com

This non-legally binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between AIFO-Liberia, LOIC, and NCD will be in effect for a period of Twenty-Seven (27) Months, starting from June 2, 2023, to August 31, 2025. The continuation of this MOU is contingent upon the availability of donor funding throughout the specified period.

Within the MOU, AIFO-Liberia, LOIC, and NCD are committed to working in the best interests of persons with disabilities and ensuring their inclusion in Liberian society through Technical Vocational Education Training Programmes.

As part of the MOU, the parties have mutually committed that AIFO-Liberia, LOIC, and NCD will act in accordance with the spirit and intent of this MOU, even though neither party intends for it to be legally binding.

The MOU is the result of a project initiated by AIFO-Liberia four years ago. On September 1, 2021, AIFO Liberia launched the 4-year full-phase CAD-L project: “Persons with Disabilities Act as Advocates and Agents of Change for an Equitable and Inclusive Liberia.” CAD-L aims to reform systems and institutions in Liberia to include Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in development processes, where PWDs act as advocates and agents of change for an equitable and inclusive society.

CAD-L coordinates the efforts of duty bearers (employers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, the police, among others), rights-based holders (persons with disabilities and leprosy patients), Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPWDs), Organization of Women with Disabilities (OWWDs), and the institutions and SOs representing them, towards improving the economic independence of PWDs through access to socio-economic and sexual reproductive health rights (SHRs), as well as means of communication to advocate for their entitlements.

Under Intermediate Output 3, concrete steps taken by Duty Bearers and CSOs have created new opportunities for PWDs’ employment, self-employment, and entrepreneurship in the public and private sectors. Output 3.2 indicates that 5 TVET centers and 33 internships are accessible and inclusive for People Living with Disabilities (PWDs). To facilitate this, a training program for Commission on Disabilities staff, relevant government agency representatives, AIFO staff, and PWDs will conduct a TVET accessibility audit to identify existing accessibility gaps that may hinder the enrollment of PWDs in selected TVET centers, thus denying or reducing access for them.

CAD-L also responds to the new job demand generated through Output 2.1 on Social Dialogue and 3.3 on Technical and Vocational training, and to the job opportunities generated through Output 3.1, where start-up skills acquired by PWDs are transferable into paid job opportunities.

Within the MOU, AIFO-Liberia and the National Commission on Disabilities will conduct a specific and distinct accessibility audit of LOIC. This audit encompasses various aspects of accessibility, including infrastructural, organizational culture, staff and instructors’ skills, learning materials and tools, internal and external recruitment, and policies and regulations adopted by the school to assess and manage students’ learning.

Furthermore, they will conduct TVET centers adaptation following the accessibility audit at LOIC. The adaptation will consider the physical structures of the institution, inclusive policy design, and knowledge on disability and inclusive development. A total of 6 young people with disabilities who aspire to learn different technical and vocational skills at LOIC will be enrolled.

Additionally, disability mainstreaming training will be provided to dedicated LOIC staff to cater to the needs of PWD students when they join internship opportunities or are about to graduate and enter the labor market.

The MOU also calls for LOIC to provide its premises to AIFO-Liberia and the NCD team of accessibility auditors to perform the accessibility audit at the institution. LOIC will assign dedicated staff to accompany AIFO-Liberia and the NCD team of accessibility auditors during the physical accessibility audit process at the institution.

“LOIC will provide much-needed information related to the overall establishment of the school, including its policies, teaching staff, program delivery mechanisms, student composition, and any other information that will aid the accessibility audit process. Following the accessibility audit and adaptation processes, LOIC will endeavor to increase their offering of services to PWDs aspiring to learn different technical and vocational skills for sustenance.”