UNDP Liberia News Quarterly Newsletter of UNDP Liberia

Issue 4: Jan-March 2015

In this Issue

1. Cutting Cross Border Infections

2. Ebola Workers Paid

3. UNDP Administrator Visits Liberia

4. Autoclaves Installed

5. Hand washing Stations Inaugurated

6. Bush Meat Sellers Empowered

7. Faith Based Groups Sensitized on Ebola

Prevention

8. Residents urged no to lose focus in

Ebola Fight

Support to Ebola Response

UNDP to Help Cut Cross Border Ebola Infections in West Africa

UNDP early in the year 2015, announced that it will help the Liberian government build new border posts to cut cross-border Ebola infections from Sierra Leone. It can be recalled that during this period, 49 new cases were recorded in the border county of Grand Cape Mount County one of the counties which has a porous border with the Republic of Sierra Leone. UNDP Country Director Kamil Kamaluddeen had indicated that in order to stop this new spread of Ebola into Liberia, borders must be properly patrolled and border officials need the right protection against the disease. "The official border crossings from Sierra Leone into Grand Cape Mount are all patrolled, however, there are a number of places where it's possible to cross without detection" he said. With UNDP assistance, Liberia's Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization is setting up the border posts in remote, often inaccessible areas where people are suspected to be crossing. Motorbikes, tents, communication equipment and personal protective equipment are to be provided for eight border crossings, which will allow immigration as well as health workers to operate at the border. They will also work with the Liberian Small Arms Commission, which has been concerned about weapons smuggling and other illegal activities. Peter Zayzay, Director of the Bureau for Immigration and Naturalization, said that patrolling the borders is incredibly difficult, and the support from UNDP will mean that more areas can be reached. "These areas are very remote, yet communities on both sides of the border are very closely linked. " he said. UNDP will pro-vide similar support to Liberia in four other counties on its borders with Sierra Leone and Guinea..

UN Volunteers put smiles on the faces of West Point children

As part of the 2015 new year celebration, Ebola orphans in the township of West Point

on the Bushrod Island and the 2nd Community in Paynesville could not stop smiling after

they received gifts from volunteers working with UNDP's anti-Ebola program. 117 chil-

dren in West Point and SKD received parcels containing different kinds of toys, educa-

tional supplies and sweets. Refuge Place International, an international NGO provided

the funds to purchase the gifts through the UNDP national volunteers. The UN Volun-

teers have been working on active case finding, psychosocial support and other commu-

nity activities in the community for several months. United Nations Volunteer (UNV) Psy-

chosocial Associate Siedoh Freeman said the sharing of gifts with the orphans was intended

to make them smile again despite the pains and trauma that the Ebola outbreak has com-

pelled them to live with. Little Francis Saypee, 11, of West Point said he was glad to receive a

Thousands of Ebola workers paid in Liberia UNDP early this year, supported the payment of Ebola Response Workers across the country. Over $1 million dollars in cash payments were distributed across the country in January alone. The workers were hired at the height of the crisis to help run treatment centres, help communities prevent transmission and track people that have had contact with victims. Many worked tirelessly without pay for months as the country struggled to cope with the epidemic. UNDP, on the request of the Office of the Secretary General, made the commitment to UNMEER to ensure all Ebola Re-sponse Workers (ERWs) are paid on time and in full. Overall, the World Bank has provided 52 million USD grant to cover hazard payments to Ebola Response Workers (ERWs) across the Country. UNDP has supported the Ministry of Health & Social Welfare (MOHSW) to build the lists of all ERWs in all counties; supporting logistics and accompanying MOHSW on field missions to all counties to identify workers and complete the lists of ERW personnel in different functions. “One of the biggest chal-lenges was determining who should be paid. At the start of the process we didn't even have a list of names” said Stuart Kefford, UNDP's Project Manager at the time, for health workers’ payments. “We worked with the Ministry of Health and the county health teams to develop the lists. “It was only after two months of work, travelling across the country to remote regions, verifying the lists, talking with NGOs to make sure people weren't getting paid twice, that we were able to start the actual pay-ments” he said. Over 1,000 of these workers were paid during the first phase of the payment plan.

New Kru Town residents urged not to lose focus in Ebola fight

During a distribution of wind-up solar radios and Panasonic Solar lanterns to Ebola

survivors in New Kru Town, UNDP Country Director Kamil Kamaluddeen urged resi-

dents of New Kru Town to keep focus on lessons learnt and the successes achieved

in the fight against the deadly Ebola virus disease in Liberia. He praised the people of

New Kru Town for exhibiting the virtues of hard work, togetherness and commitment

among community members in overcoming challenges and achieving positive results

in the fight against the Ebola Disease in the Country. 100 solar lanterns and wind-up

radios were turned over to the Community Leadership for use by Ebola survivors and

other vulnerable members residing within the community. Similar gesture was ex-

tended to those

living in the

West Point

belt.“We are

here in solidar-

ity with you. We

are here to con-

gratulate you

for the efforts

that you have

shown so far…

For the hard

work and togetherness that you have demonstrated in your response to the Ebola

virus disease…” Dr. Kamaluddeen said. He said the donation to survivors and or-

phans in these communities was part of UNDP on-going support to Ebola survivors

and orphans to help them have access to information and light in their homes. S.

Tugbe Worjloh, the Vice Governor of New Kru Town expressed appreciation to UNDP

for the donation to Ebola orphans and survivors in the community. Vexter Doe spoke

on behalf of the Ebola survivors and orphans in the West Point Township. We like to

say thank you to the UNDP family, let God bless you and add to the work of your

hands…” she said.

Vexter said the Ebola crisis greatly affected them and

they are in serious need of every form of support and

assistance to move ahead with their lives. The radios

were procured in partnership with a South Africa

based NGO, Life Line Energy while the solar lanterns

were procured through a pro bono agreement be-

tween the UNDP and Panasonic Corporation.

Bush Meat Sellers Empowered

In a bid to empower market women who once

sold bush meat prior to the Ebola outbreak in

Liberia, UNDP conducted a cash transfer assis-

tance programme to more than 400 marketers

that sold dry meat prior to the outbreak of the

Ebola Virus in the country. The Government of

Liberia banned the sale of dry meat in Liberia

following the Ebola outbreak. The marketers,

each received US$100. They were selected and

screened with support from the Liberia Market-

ing Association (LMA) and are from four gen-

eral markets in Monrovia, namely; Rally Time,

Duala, Red-light and Waterside.

Musu Kannah, 44, started selling dry meat since

1992. She said dry meat is the only business that

she understands well. Her husband, a former

police officer is unemployed and Musu remains

the only breadwinner for a family of 15.

“Since the government told us to stop selling dry

meat, things have not been easy with me and my

family. My husband was downsized from the

police since this government came to power and

I have been the only one feeling the family

through this dry meat business….” Musu said.

The cash assistance is to help women in this

category, find alternative livelihoods in the wake

of the ban placed on the sale of bush meat. Ac-

cording to health authorities, Bush meat is one

of the major sources for the rapid spread of the

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

A former bush meat seller receiving cash Assistance

want to thank all of them for the part they played in helping to contain the disease…” she stated. The Social Safety Net Cash Transfer and Resilience Strengthening project will utilize approximately USD$ 2 million of UNDP internal funds. The project requires USD$12.2 million of which USD$10.2 has been earmarked for cash transfers to help transform the lives of the poorest households. The visit of Ms. Clark was to assess the level of support provided to the Government of Liberia by UNDP in its fight against the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

Faith Based Groups Sensitized on Ebola Prevention

A team of United Nations Volunteers (UNVs) under the

UNDP Montserrado Community Based Initiative (MCBI)

project increased sensitization among Faith Based groups in

hot spot communities especially where there were reports of

healing services and bathing of the dead. For example in a

hotspot community in New Kru Town, Popo Beach area,

National Volunteers engaged in Active Case Finding were

able to quell a major outbreak emanating from a Church

Healing Service. As a result , increased sensitization was

then extended to Muslim community in Jenewonde, Grand

Cape Mount County following reports of new cases attrib-

uted to denial, and the continued traditional practices, as well

as to Islamic academic institutions in preparation for the re-

opening of schools. UNV Field Associate Varlee Sanor at a

gathering organized for Muslim Clerics, reminded them to

continue teaching their congregation, teaching staff and stu-

dents about Ebola preventive measures despite the decline in

new cases.

Hand Washing Stations Inaugurated for motorcy-clists UNDP in partnership with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Angie Brooks International Center (ABIC) inaugu-rated hand washing stations for motorcyclists in parts of Monrovia. Five hundred (500) gallons poly tanks were in-stalled at twenty-three (23) different motorcycle parking

Effective and Efficient Data Collection and Processing UNDP Montserrado Community Based Project provided support to increase monitoring of Ebola Contacts within hotspot communities in Montserrado County. National Volunteers’ Supervisors and Monitors of the UNDP Supported Initiative were issued new ZTE V795 dual SIM smart-phones to enhance moni-toring and supervision of Active Case Finders in the field. The phones, loaded with various applications, were issued to 50 Supervisors and 18 Monitors to be used for effective and efficient data collection and processing. The phones are also programmed for closed user group (CUG) among the supervisors, monitors and the MCBI project team. MCBI Information Technology (IT) Associate, Tho-mas P. Harris said unlike in the past where the supervisors were contacted indi-vidually to collect data from the field, the use of the phones now makes it easier and convenient for both the Supervisors and the MCBI IT team to communicate and share information.“With this application now, the Supervisors will get the data from the Active Case Finders and just upload from wherever they are and we’ll receive it here at the EOC (Emergency Operations Center)” Harris said. The Montserrado Community Based Initiative (MCBI) is a UNDP supported pro-ject that takes cognizance of the need for community in-volvement in the national Ebola re-sponse, to stop the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and its eventual elimination from Liberia. The project was able to mobilize over 1,300 commu-nity volunteers for active case finding in various communities. In addition to dis-covering Ebola cases and contacts in these communities, volunteers have also been tasked with carrying out door-to-door community sensitization on the pre-vention of Ebola infection, identification of the sick and dead and contact tracing among others. At the same time, at least two hundred community volunteers were trained to strengthen surveillance and monitoring of contacts in district 16 in Montserrado County. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the World Health Organization (WHO), UNDP Ebola Project initiated the training at the time EVD had moved to the second phase, thus shifting the focus from slow-ing transmission to ending the epidemic in Liberia and the other two affected Countries. United Nations Volunteer (UNV) Field Associate Netty Joe said the volunteers were taken from seventy-four (74) communities in lower and central Virginia in the St. Paul Bridge community. “A total of 7,468 houses were tar-geted in the two communities, with 2,051 in lower and 5,417 in central Virginia respectively, according to Ms Joe. UNDP Administrator Visits Liberia During the visit of UNDP Administrator, Helen Clark in February this year, she praised the partnership with local and international organizations, the govern-ment, community leaders, women, youth groups and the remarkable leadership of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in beating the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). In Tubmanburg, Bomi County where she officially signed a programme document on the Social Safety Net Cash Transfer Programme with the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Julia Duncan Cassell , the UNDP Administrator praised the efforts made by community members to help the government of Li-beria spread the word on prevention and keeping their communities safe. “Everybody who spread the word about how to stay safe from the disease, I

stations across Monrovia and its environs. 2 out of the twenty-five tanks pro-cured, were turned over to the Bomi County Local Administration for use by the Transport Union in that part of the Country. In addition to the poly tanks, the Transport Union also received five barrels of 45kg of chlorine, over 2,000 sprayer bottles, 30 cartons of hand sanitizers, over 2,000 Ebola prevention stickers, and over 800 pieces of reflective vests. This initiative builds on UNDP capacity to help sustain the EVD prevention efforts and messaging among transport operators. At a brief dedication programme Deputy Transport Minister for Administration, Bushuben Keita, told the motorcyclists to properly utilize the Ebola preventive supplies by regularly washing their hands. The Minister told

the leadership of the motorcyclists to put in place the necessary mechanisms to ensure that the tanks and other preventive materials are protected and main-tained. “These things are for your use. You have to ensure that they are pro-tected and maintained….” He said. UNDP Team Leader on the Sustainable Economic Transformation (SET) Pillar Dorsla Farcarthy mentioned that UNDP remains committed and ready to supporting efforts of the government and part-ners to totally eradicate the deadly Ebola Virus Disease from Liberia. Autoclaves’ installation begin The Government of Liberia with support from UNDP commenced the installa-tion of autoclaves in Liberia, as a pilot program at two government-run medical

facilities- John F. Ken-nedy Medical Center (JFK) in Monrovia, Montserrado County and the Jackson F. Doe Regional Referral Hospital in Tappita, Nimba County. The two autoclaves cost over US$70,000.00 (35,000.00 each) the installation also in-cluded training of key

medical Staff in the maintenance and operations of the autoclaves. Mr. Prince Stryker who heads the Maintenance Department at the John F. Kennedy Hos-pital in Monrovia, said the equipment will reduce the level of pollution usually caused by burning of medical and other forms of wastes at the hospital. “This equipment that will grill the dirt instead of burning will be very helpful not only to the hospital but also the community around here….” Mr. Stryker said.

During an inspection of the installation process,

UNDP Country Director Kamil Kamaluddeen re-

vealed that the autoclaves were requested by the

government as part of the health sector rebuilding

process. He described the equipment as “a simple

technology with better result”.

Bomi County Lauded for progress in Ebola Response Bomi was one of the most affected Counties during the peak of the Ebola Virus Disease, recording high infections. To-day, it symbolizes the declined trends in the EVD transmis-sion. Bomi County Superintendent Samuel Brown said Bomi County recorded 133 Ebola related deaths with 263 cases. UNDP provided support to Bomi County during the heat of the EVD to fight the disease. During a monitoring visit , UNDP Country Director, Dr. Kamil Kamaluddeen said he was pleased that the county level support provided by UNDP to Bomi and other counties immensely helped to respond to the Ebola virus disease in the country. “We are here to monitor the progress that we have made with the support provided to Bomi County at the local level in response to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) …” Dr. Kamaluddeen said in an interview with Radio Bomi in Tubmanburg, Bomi County during a fact finding visit to Bomi County.

He said progress seen in the county was as a result of the collective work of the community, the government through the local authorities and development partners, both local and international. Also during the field mission, the UNDP Country Director and team visited the Bomi Hospital and the Ebola Treatment Unit in Tubmanburg. According to Dr. Nisar Ulkhak, the Medical Director at the ETU, at the time of the visit on 7th February, there was no EVD patient and the last suspected patient had left the ETU two days earlier after being tested negative. Dr. Ulkhak said since the facility was opened, a total of 63 cases were admitted at the unit. He said at the peak of the Ebola epidemic, the ETU had 14 patients, 20 of whom were confirmed positive, 9 survived with the rest confirmed dead.

UNDP BIDS FAREWELL TO KEY STAFF

Contributions

Governance and Public Institu-

tions Pillar

Sustainable Economic Trans-

formation Pillar

Montserrado Community

Based Initiative

MPTTF

Photo Credits

Augusta Pshorr

Frederick Ampiah

Sam Zota

Design/Edit/Production

Augusta Pshorr

Albert Dayeah

Sam Zota

Direction:

Kamil Kamaluddeen

Cleophas Torori

Staff News: Departures &

Arrivals

Departure 1.Frederick Ampiah– Partnership/Resource Mobilization 2. Herlyn Alfonso,-Human Resources 3. Stuart Kefford-MPTTF 4. Soriano, Clark –RC Office

Arrivals 1. Jill Morehead-MPTTF 2. Judith Ossom_Human Resources

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UNDP Liberia