LIBERIA – Liberian President George Manneh Weah has commissioned a new National Dialysis Center with a 10-bed capacity in Monrovia to boost kidney disease treatment especially for patients with acute and chronic renal conditions across the country.

President Weah named the new facility EJS Dialysis Center in honour of his predecessor Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who initiated the project in 2011 following the dire need for dialysis services in Liberia for decades.

The Dialysis Center seeks to relieve financial, social and psychological pressure on Liberians who had to travel to other countries to seek medical services that were not available locally.

The establishment will also provide affordable healthcare services for those who could not afford to raise the funds required to obtain these costly life-saving services in neighboring countries and beyond.

Previously, not only would one have to worry about the cost of treatment in a foreign country but also the airfare, accommodation and other associated costs which made the overall cost of the lifesaving treatment unaffordable for many.

When I was elected President in 2018, I was informed of the Dialysis Center Project and instructed my then Minister of Health to prioritize completion of the project. Four years later, we have opened the facility,” stated President Dr. George M. Weah.

The World Health Organization (WHO) with financial aid from the World Bank has supported the Ministry of Health with renovating the EJS National Dialysis facility, contributing to the training of nurses and biotechnologists as well as purchasing the first lot of consumables.

From 2013 to 2021, 243 people were diagnosed with chronic renal failure and 195 patients died of the condition which represents 80.2% of the diagnosed cases meaning that 8 people died out of every 10, reports the Liberian Ministry of Health.

The dire need for dialysis services in Liberia became more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic as patients with renal disease could not get the required assistance in the country.

Moreover, the uncontrolled emergence of non-communicable diseases (NCDS) such as hypertension and diabetes which greatly contribute to renal failure made the situation deplorable during the pandemic.

Gambia receives Pfizer vaccines from US

Meanwhile, Gambia has received 100,0620 doses of the Pfizer vaccine donated by the United States of America to boost to the country’s Covid-19 vaccination efforts.

The Hon. Minister of Health Dr. Ahmadou Lamin Samateh received the vaccines on behalf of the Government and people of the Gambia at the Banjul International Airport which will go a long way in protecting the population from Covid-19.

Hon. Samateh urged all people living in Gambia who have not yet received their vaccination to come out and be vaccinated as the vaccines are safe and will potentially save lives of families.

He added that the health ministry will avert the restrictions that would have been imposed on people who are not vaccinated as it is being done in other countries.

The Gambian government together with its partners have been working tirelessly to control the spread of COVID-19 by ensuring vaccines are made available, massive sensitization as well as adherence to public health and social measures.

So far ,Gambia has received hundreds of thousands of doses of different vaccines through the COVAX facility including AstraZeneca, Janssen and Janssen (J&J) and Sinopharm.

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