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West Point is a township of the Liberian capital city of Monrovia, located on a 0.53 km2 peninsula which juts out into the Atlantic Ocean between the Mesurado and Saint Paul rivers. West Point is one of Monrovia's most densely populated slums.
Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world. Civil wars have killed around 250,000 people and displaced many more. The wars ended in 2003 but destroyed most of the country's healthcare facilities. Recovery precedes proceeds, but the majority of the population still lives below the international poverty line. Life expectancy in Liberia is much lower than the world average. Communicable diseases are widespread, including tuberculosis, diarrhea, malaria, HIV, and Dengue. Female genital mutilation is widely practiced. Nearly a quarter of children under the age of five are malnourished and few people have access to adequate sanitation facilities. In 2009, government expenditure on health care per-capita was US$22, accounting for 10.6% of totaled GDP. In 2008, Liberia had only one doctor and 27 nurses per 100,000 people. It was ill-equipped to handle the outbreak of Ebola in 2014 and 2015.
The 2013–2016 epidemic of Ebola virus disease, centered in Western Africa, was the most widespread outbreak of the disease in history. It caused major loss of life and socioeconomic disruption in the region, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The first cases were recorded in Guinea in December 2013; later, the disease spread to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, with minor outbreaks occurring in Nigeria and Mali. Secondary infections of medical workers occurred in the United States and Spain. In addition, isolated cases were recorded in Senegal, the United Kingdom and Italy. The number of cases peaked in October 2014 and then began to decline gradually, following the commitment of substantial international resources.
Ameyo Stella Adadevoh was a Nigerian physician.
An Ebola virus epidemic in Sierra Leone occurred in 2014, along with the neighbouring countries of Guinea and Liberia. On 18 March 2014, Guinean health officials announced the outbreak of a mysterious hemorrhagic fever "which strikes like lightning". It was identified as Ebola virus disease and spread to Sierra Leone by May 2014. The disease was thought to have originated when a child from a bat-hunting family contracted the disease in Guinea in December 2013.
Patrick Oliver Sawyer was a Liberian-American lawyer who was notable for being the index case for the introduction of Ebola virus disease into Nigeria during the West African Ebola epidemic in 2014. Sawyer was a naturalized U.S. citizen who lived in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. He has been variously described as working for the Liberian Ministry of Finance and for the mining company ArcelorMittal as their national manager for public health. He was aged 40 at the time of his death.
An epidemic of Ebola virus disease occurred in Liberia from 2014 to 2015, along with the neighbouring countries of Guinea and Sierra Leone. The first cases of virus were reported by late March 2014. The Ebola virus, a biosafety level four pathogen, is an RNA virus discovered in 1976.
Organizations from around the world responded to the West African Ebola virus epidemic. In July 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened an emergency meeting with health ministers from eleven countries and announced collaboration on a strategy to co-ordinate technical support to combat the epidemic. In August, they declared the outbreak an international public health emergency and published a roadmap to guide and coordinate the international response to the outbreak, aiming to stop ongoing Ebola transmission worldwide within 6–9 months. In September, the United Nations Security Council declared the Ebola virus outbreak in the West Africa subregion a "threat to international peace and security" and unanimously adopted a resolution urging UN member states to provide more resources to fight the outbreak; the WHO stated that the cost for combating the epidemic will be a minimum of $1 billion.
This article covers the timeline of the 2014 Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa and its outbreaks elsewhere. Flag icons denote the first announcements of confirmed cases by the respective nation-states, their first deaths, and their first secondary transmissions, as well as relevant sessions and announcements of agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and NGOs such as Doctors Without Borders; medical evacuations, visa restrictions, border closures, quarantines, court rulings, and possible cases of zoonosis are also included.
The Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa has had a large effect on the culture of most of the West African countries. In most instances, the effect is a rather negative one as it has disrupted many Africans’ traditional norms and practices. For instance, many West African communities rely on traditional healers and witch doctors, who use herbal remedies, massage, chant and witchcraft to cure just about any ailment. Therefore, it is difficult for West Africans to adapt to foreign medical practices. Specifically, West African resistance to Western medicine is prominent in the region, which calls for severe distrust of Western and modern medical personnel and practices.(see Ebola conspiracies below.)
Cases of the Ebola virus disease in Nigeria were reported in 2014 as a small part of the epidemic of Ebola virus disease which originated in Guinea that represented the first outbreak of the disease in a West African country. Previous outbreaks had been confined to countries in Central Africa.
Bernice Dahn, is the former Minister of Health in the Republic of Liberia, heading the country's Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. Dahn replaced Walter Gwenigale in June 2015 after a contentious confirmation process. She previously held the position of Deputy Minister for Health Services and Chief Medical Officer for the Ministry of Health in Liberia. Dahn's nomination was held up over allegations of financial corruption stemming from an audit by the General Auditing Commission (GAC).
The Liberian government is conducting a birth registration campaign to record more than 70,000 children whose births were not listed during the Ebola crisis of 2014 and 2015. Previously Liberia had the second lowest rate of birth registration at 4 percent. But a Universal Birth Registration Plan was introduced, and by 2013, birth registration drives had increased the rates in Liberia to 25 percent.
Clar Marie Duncan Weah is a Jamaican businesswoman, philanthropist, advocate, and the current First Lady of the Republic of Liberia. She is the spouse of George Manneh Weah, the 25th President of the Republic of Liberia, elected in 2017. Clar established the Clar Hope Foundation in 2018, with the goal of improving the livelihoods of the least privileged in Liberia.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Liberia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Liberia in March 2020.
Events in the year 2020 in Liberia.
Julia Duncan-Cassell is a Liberian politician. She served as minister of gender, children, and social protection from 2012 to 2018, as part of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's second cabinet.
Events in the year 2019 in Liberia.
Events in the year 2016 in Liberia.
Events in the year 2014 in Liberia.
References
- ↑ Asumpta Lattus (2014-08-18). "Liberia's health minister: 'More people beginning to believe Ebola is real'". Deutsche Welle.
- ↑ Webmaster. "FrontPageAfrica - Dr. Bernice Dahn Finally Confirmed As Health Minister". www.frontpageafricaonline.com. Archived from the original on 2015-08-01. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
- ↑ Cholo Brooke. "Weah Makes Additional Appointments In Gov't, Defeated UP Vice Presidential Candidate Appointed At LAA". GNN Liberia. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
