By Nanci Cole | Project Leader
People don't shake hands anymore in Liberia. People don't hug. Thumbs Up is the standard greeting these days!
Everybody is still focused on Ebola, but there are beginning to be signs of hope. Last week’s World Health Organization (WHO) Ebola Report stated that transmission appears to be stabilizing in Liberia. Liberia's government has set a highly ambitious goal of zero new ebola cases by December 25. The size and scope of ebola treatment facilities that the American troops are building are being reduced. Defense officials said that instead of 17 isolation units, the military would be building 10, and that seven of them would have 50 beds each, rather than the 100 beds previously planned.
Like everyone, we've been doing all we can in terms of prevention - educating people, placing buckets. Last month we authorized the purchase of another 1000 buckets with a continuing goal of placing them in every school, church, mosque, and marketplace in Margibi County. When the hospital reopened last month, we reopened our clinic and went back to treating fevers, malaria, diarrhea, sore throats, wounds, typhoid, STIs, and deworming just as we have always done. Our emphasis continues to be on community health, keeping people and communities safe and well. Sometimes we see potential cases of ebola and make the referrals necessary for treatment. We are continuing to work with communities to allow the ebola teams in to do what they need to do. This crisis has brought urgency and attention to our work, but it hasn't changed the work.
New concerns have surfaced about the devastating impact on the economy. When ebola hit the country, the toll was immediate. Earlier this month, a World Bank report said that "nearly half of the working population of Liberia is no longer working since the crisis began." Wealthy Liberians with dual citizenship and foreign nationals fled the country, taking their purchasing power with them. When the state of emergency was declared, the government closed. Restaurants and bars had to close at 6 pm. Schools closed, gatherings prohibited. People avoided public places and public transportation. Fearing infection, people stopped visiting hairdressers and clothing shops. Mining companies slowed or stopped operations, and suppliers across the board lost their incomes. Small businesses around the country had to close. Hundreds of thousands of people are now out of work. Tax revenues are down significantly and fuds are being expended on ebola, not development. Liberia was one of the fastest growing economies in the world last year, but recent projections show that the country’s growth could be going backwards in 2015.
Things are beginning to turn around. The rainy season is over. Farmers are being encouraged to start planting again. Investments are being made in roads and construction, industries that create jobs and opportunities for suppliers. Mining companies have started operations again and will be exporting minerals in the coming months. Thousands of foreign workers have also arrived in the country, which is giving a big boost to the service sector. If things remain stable schools are expected to reopen in January.
At HWHL we are focusing on the future too. There continues to be a scarcity of health workers everywhere in Liberia. Dr. Chris is one of only three doctors in Margibi County. The other two work for the government at C.H. Rennie Hospital. Our Community Health Workers serve as the primary health care providers for patients in and around Kakata. Community Health Workers provide health education, they lead the vaccination and immunization campaigns and provide first aid to community members when they are sick. They encourage pregnant women to seek health care and mothers to seek postnatal care. They are the first responders. We are moving forward in 2015 to more than double the number of trained Community Health Workers from 8 to 18.
Last week we finished the grading work required to set the foundation for our new Medical Center facility. We are now able to share the drawings for this beautiful new facility. Building Goodness Foundation has been supporting our work to design and construct a beautiful, new space over the next twelve months. Their knowledge and experience have already provided so many benefits to our Liberian team. Job skills are critical for community development. Even though we primarily do work in healthcare, one of our goals in building this facility is to use local labor and to train as many men as we can in world class construction skills so that when our facility is complete they can continue with a valuable trade.
Like the government our plans for the coming year are ambitious - building a new Medical Center, doubling the number of trained healthcare workers, keeping Margibi County healthy and safe. With your help we have accomplished so much in the past three years. We look forward to putting this ebola crisis behind us and with your continuing support, moving forward!
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