Liberia: ‘Regional Connectivity and Population Movement Put Liberia at Heightened Risk’ — NPHIL Boss Alerts Over Congo Ebola Virus Crisis - FrontPageAfrica

Monrovia — The Acting Director-General of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), Dr. Sia Wata Camanor, has disclosed that the institution will continue to closely monitor the Ebola Virus Disease outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

By J.H. Webster Clayeh

Speaking at the Ministry of Information’s regular press briefing on Tuesday, May 19, Dr. Camanor said Liberia’s preparedness against Ebola remains a national security priority.

“Liberia has no confirmed Ebola cases; there is no active Ebola outbreak in the country. However, given regional connectivity and population movement, Liberia remains at heightened risk,” the NPHIL boss said.

Dr. Camanor emphasized that Liberia’s past experiences with major disease outbreaks have strengthened the country’s public health response systems.

“Liberia’s experience with Ebola, COVID-19, and other outbreaks has strengthened our systems significantly,” she stated.

According to Dr. Camanor, NPHIL is enhancing nationwide surveillance through strengthened event-based and routine monitoring, active community engagement, rumor tracking, and continuous reporting systems.

She added that the institute has intensified port health and border surveillance measures, including increased screening at airports, seaports and land borders.

“Strengthened collaboration with immigration and security agencies, ongoing engagement with border communities; the effectiveness of these efforts depends heavily on adequately staffing Points of Entry, underscoring the urgency of formalizing POE personnel,” she said.

Commenting on laboratory preparedness, Dr. Camanor said NPHIL has trained laboratory personnel and strengthened specimen collection and transport systems, while also enhancing biosafety and biosecurity measures.

“We have trained over 200 field epidemiologists. These are our foot soldiers who are in the district. Of the 98 health districts, 78 of them have field epidemiologists,” she pointed out.

Dr. Camanor also stressed that NPHIL has strengthened rapid response and coordination mechanisms, highlighting the functionality of the Incident Management System and the readiness of rapid response teams across the country.

She said the response effort also includes multi-sectoral coordination involving government institutions, security agencies, and development partners.

“We have strengthened public communication to ensure timely, accurate information,” the National Public Health Institute of Liberia boss said. “We encourage the public to remain vigilant and report any unusual illness.”

Dr. Camanor urged citizens to maintain regular hand hygiene, avoid contact with bodily fluids of sick persons, and seek early medical care when symptoms appear.

She also encouraged the public to report suspected cases promptly and avoid spreading misinformation, stressing that early detection is critical in preventing outbreaks.

“Liberia’s experience with Ebola, COVID-19, Mpox, Lassa fever, and measles has strengthened national preparedness,” Dr. Camanor added.