Gbarnga – In continuation of its humanitarian gesture to the healthcare delivery system of Bong County, the Lutheran Church in Liberia Malaria program (LCLMP) Coordinator Sue Larmouth Gaye-Korgba has recommitted the institution’s support to health centers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the pandemic, according to Madam Gaye-Korgba, LCLMP has helped health facilities including Phebe Hospital and School of Nursing, the C. B. Dunbar Maternity Hospital, as well as the Palala and Gbarnlai Maternal Waiting Homes, among others.
Several bags of rice, bags of salt, children clothes, hand sanitizers, and hand washing buckets, among others, have been donated by the organization to buttress government’s efforts in combating the pandemic.
“For Bong county we are not a stranger to the County health Team here. We are one of the partners working here in collaboration with the Phebe Hospital and School of Nursing and also working alongside the Bong County Health Team to rescue our people from their different health conditions,” said Gaye-Kprgba.
LCLMP continues to implement its malaria prevention project in more than 50 communities in Bong County, using different communication channels and a chain of Community Health Volunteers (CHV) to convey malaria preclusion messages among the local population, she said.
She added that the project focuses on advocacy and training where community members are provided skills to initiate local advocacy on malaria prevention beyond the project lifespan as part of the sustainability strategy, while building ownership among community members to develop the resilience in managing their own healthcare.
But, according to her, funds allocated to some of these different programs have now been diverted to the current program activities due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Mrs. Gaye-Korgba maintained that as long as the project continues to receive supports from donors or partners, the health sector of Bong County will always be prioritized.
At the Palala and Gbarnlai maternal waiting homes, Mrs. Gaye-Korgba said the LCLMP remains supportive to these facilities especially midwives and pregnant women.
She also called on community memebrs to attend health facilities to get medications while fighting against COVID-19.
LCLMP’s project involves awareness, advocacy, prevention and building the livelihood of the ordinary people through Village Saving Loan, Madam Gaye-Korgba revealed.
Due to the overwhelming challenges the county heath team faces, Madam Gaye-Korgba told reporters that the program is also creating awareness about COVID-19 in several communities across the county.
The awareness, according to her, is aimed at encouraging citizens prevent or seek treatments for other diseases including malaria, stroke, diarrhea, diabetes and among others.
“Because if you just sit and don’t visit the hospital with these different health complications, you might just be creating another room for the next health crises in the County and the Country at large,” she said.
For his part, Bong County Health Team Administrator Jonah N. Tokpah commended the LCLMP for the support to the health team.
He then called on people of the county to support the program by adhering to health regulations to curb the spread of the virus in the county.
