By: Fofee Jarbe fojarbe@gmail.com

Monrovia, Liberia: April 10,2020 -Four Leading Society organizations say they are concerned about the national health pandemic which could undermine the Economic, social and political stability of Liberia.

In a press release, The Institute for Research and Democratic Development (IREDD), Naymote Partners for Democratic Development (NAYMOTE-Liberia), Accountability Lab Liberia and Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) working on Democracy, Governance and Accountability in Liberia are concerned about the current national health pandemic (COVID-19), which could potentially undermine the economic, social and political stability of Liberia.

“While we applaud the government for its initial steps taken in declaring health emergency in Montserrado and Margibi counties and establishing a clear health protocol, there is a need for a concerted effort, led by the President of the Republic of Liberia, George M. Weah, to combat the virus. Such national effort must rally the support of all stakeholders, including political parties, private sector, religious community, civil society and media, traditional leaders, women and youth groupings etc.

At the moment, we are not seeing the level of leadership, coordination, community engagement and timely information sharing characterized the fight against Ebola. Therefore, we wish to call on the government to build on existing structures and resources used during the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) to save resources and timely eradicate the virus.” The they stated.

Meanwhile the four Civil society organizations say as the number of COVID 19 cases surges with 3 reported deaths already, it is imminent that the country will have to go on a lock-down, drawing examples from countries where the virus is far more precarious. “We are concerned that in an event of a lock-down, the attending economic impact on poor and vulnerable communities will be dire as many families will face hunger and starvation. In this regard, we recommend that government makes provision to address the economic impact of any imminent lock-down on poor and vulnerable communities, especially women and children.” They mentioned.

The civil society organizations further mention that to help boost communication and reporting of cases and citizens accessing online information about COVID-19, we call on the government to consider re-introduction of the unlimited three-day free call and data package for at least 3-months; They call on the government to intervene by requesting all commercial banks to suspend loans and interest payments for the period of 3-months. This will alleviate the pressure and economic impact on businesses;

To enhance transparency, accountability and bolster public trust and further enhance donors’ confidence, they call on the government to establish a framework that regularly tracks and update the public on all Coronavirus related donations (financial and non-financial) and expenditure;

They also called on the government to strengthen its COVID-19 response preparedness and make contingency plans in an event of escalation in cases. This preparedness should include, but not limited to support to health centers and getting health workers prepared to deal with the outbreak; providing the necessary resources; incentives and rallying around for adequate PPEs and other equipment. At this moment, it is imperative for a stronger decentralized rapid testing to identify and respond to cases.

“We wish to encourage all international partners, civil society organizations and media institutions to integrate health awareness and COVID-19 in their programmes;

We call on all citizens to strictly adhere to the Ministry of Health (MoH) protocols. Similarly, we wish to caution against selective isolation and quarantine of preserved persons who may have come in contact with asymptomatic individuals. We believe that this undermines the fight against the virus especially contact tracing and therefore call for vigorous enforcement.” The joint press release stated.

The four Leading civil society organizations expressed their commitment to remain constructively engaged in supporting national effort to combat COVID-19 as was done during the Ebola Virus Disease in Liberia.

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