NPHIL holds Stakeholders Engagement Meeting on EBS in Maryland

By: Peter P. Toe, Jr.

Maryland, Liberia: The National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) have concluded a stake holder’s engagement meeting on Event-Based Surveillance with community leaders and representatives in Maryland County.

The one day forum was held on Saturday, May 25, 2024 at the Methodist Hall in Harper City, Maryland County, bringing together representatives from the local government, health authorities, Women and Youth Leaders, education and Media stakeholders, CSOs and CBOs, among others.

The Event-Based Surveillance is an organized collection, monitoring, assessment, and interpretation of mainly unstructured information disseminated, intending to provide safety.

Speaking at the opening of the program, Mrs. Sumor L. Flomo, lead analyst at NPHIL challenged participants to be surveillance to report strange happenings in their various environment.

Madam Flomo said incidents such as the outbreaks of diseases or sicknesses of any kind among humans or animals living in the environment including suspicious and instant deaths, fire outbreaks, whether from known or unknown sources, amongst other issues that might call for urgent interventions from community dwellers or national government should be instantly reported.

"When these types of incidents happen, that needs urgent interventions, do not hesitate, just call this hotline which is free of charge 4455." She said.

For his part, Chief Investigator of Diseases at the National Public Health Institute of Liberia, Samuel K. Zayzay said during the Ebola outbreak in 2014, several citizens did not make use of the hotlines 4455, a situation he tied to the huge spread of the disease.

Speaking on behalf of participants, Maryland County's Assistant Superintendent for Development, Fred Barto thanked the government of Liberia and the National Public Health Institute of Liberia for the partnership in helping Liberians become surveillance in their own communities.

Assistant Supt. Barto urged his fellow participants to make use of the 4455 hotlines in times of emergencies that require urgent attentions.