The World Health Organization Liberia Country Office this week donated 21 pieces of Oxygen Concentrators to the Ministry of Health to support the government in the management of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Statistics generated from Liberia’s Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA+) and Quality of Care (QoC) in 2018 shows that 58% of the hospitals had Oxygen. This situation has been further exacerbated by the health challenges posed by COVID-19 on an already fragile healthcare system following a devastating Ebola Virus Disease outbreak (2014-2016).
Oxygen concentrators are of extreme importance in respiratory infectious disease management. The concentrators deliver pure, high quality Oxygen with the appropriate concentration vital for the treatment of moderate-to-severe COVID-19 patients with subnormal blood oxygen levels.

In his remarks at the handing over ceremony, Dr. Peter Clement, WHO Representative in Liberia said the donation was part of the organization’s way of contributing to Liberia COVID-19 response and mitigating its impact on the health system. “We are gathered today to handover 21 pieces of Oxygen concentrators to the government of Liberia. It is envisaged that the support will contribute towards strengthening the health care delivery system and provide an added impetus to our joint efforts in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic”, Dr Clement noted.

He reassured the Hon. Minister for Health of WHO’s commitment to support the government in advancing the national health agenda especially health security and quality Universal Health Coverage. He also congratulated the government for the strong leadership in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Receiving the donation at the premises of the Ministry of Health in Monrovia, the Hon. Minister for Health, Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah lauded the excellent working relations between her Ministry and the WHO. She described WHO as a very key partner that is always responsive to the needs of his Ministry, especially during these difficult and critical times.  “Whenever we knock on the doors of the WHO, the response is immediate”, Minister Jallah stated.

She thanked WHO for its continuous support to the GOL and acknowledged the existing cordial working relationship between herself and the WHO Representative. She said the Oxygen Concentrators will be distributed to all the 15 counties to boost the national fight against COVID-19.

Present at the handover ceremony were the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Francis Kateh, senior staffs of the Ministry of Health, the National Public Health Institute of Liberia and allied ministries.