The Health Ministry is distributing oxygen plants to health facilities across the country making sure that there is an oxygen supply in every health facility.
Minister Wilhelmina Jallah recently told the media in Monrovia that there are over 3,500 oxygen plants in the country of which two are already in Maryland and Bomi Counties; supplying oxygen to facilities that need them.
She said the John F Kennedy Medical Center including other health facilities in Grand Bassa, Lofa, Grand Kru, Nimba, Grand Gedeh, Bong and Sinoe Counties are areas that are expected to receive the newly procured oxygen tanks.
Jallah indicated that the essence of the distribution of the oxygen plant is to ensure that there is an oxygen supply in each of the health centers and facilities including clinics.
She pointed out that clinics, hospitals and health centers will all be supplied with oxygen to attend to those needing it.
The minister explained that the country has been named the center of excellence of oxygen, emphasizing that others are expected to come to Liberia to receive training in oxygen.
“Right now we are conducting biomedical training for people to take care of these plants,” she disclosed.
According to her, the country has the national reference laboratory for sequencing; therefore, there is a need for Liberians to be trained to run the instruments.
“We do not want foreigners to come and do these things for us, so Liberians are being trained to run the National Reference Lab and the sequencing process,” she indicated.
Jallah added that there is another lab opened in Maryland County and another will be opening in Bong County soon, where the country will have the capacity to run two distinct labs for lasser fever and measles.
“Even with Ebola, we no longer have to wait long for the result, we can get these results within 24 hours,” she emphasized.
At the same time, Jallah, disclosed that the Ministry is gearing up to carry out another vaccine outreach but this time targets are the elderly, pregnant women, health frontliners and people in the villages that were not able to receive the vaccines, adding that, they are more prone to getting the COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases.
“Even though the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that COVID-19 is no longer an epidemic of emergency, we still need to take precautions by wearing masks, washing our hands and covering our mouth when we cough,” she stressed.
Jallah noted that as the result of the end of COVID-19, Liberia has moved from one ventilator at the time to 91 ventilators, which have been distributed to every county.
She stressed that ventilators have been set up in every major hospital around the country.
However, the Health boss said over the last few months COVID-19 cases have decreased, noting that the highest number of cases were recorded in August of last year and as of June this year, only six cases were recorded.
Jallah said Liberia was ranked 3rd among countries in the region that did well in the vaccination process, adding that, majority of the population are vaccinated.
