Liberia: MOH, WHO Conduct COVID-19 After Action Review
The Ministry of Health, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), conducted a COVID-19 After Action Review (AAR) for the first time. According to WHO, the review has placed the country among the first five countries in Africa to have such an exercise. The conduct of this AAR was initiated by the government of Liberia with support from the WHO and other stakeholders. The COVID-19 After Action Review is a policy document aimed at accessing the AAR to develop a national compass that will be used to respond to public health emergency management for the country.
Dr Julius Monday, Emergency Preparedness Response Team Lead of WHO, expressed delight as saying, “Liberia is among the first five countries in Africa to conduct COVID-19 After Action Review (AAR). Allow me in a very special way to congratulate Liberia on these milestones. This is a very great achievement for the country, and this will help in improving the key performances for the country in terms of transitioning from a response to routine services.”
Dr. Monday made the remarks at the end of a three day meeting on the COVID-19 After Action Review (AAR) in Monrovia. The event, which was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Health with funding from the WHO, kicked off from July 17th to July 19th, 2023.
The three-day meeting brought together hundreds of County Health Officers (CHO) from the fifteen counties of Liberia to access the AAR and develop a national compass that will be used to respond to public health emergency management.
It also aimed at examining the impact, challenges, and Liberia’s preparedness and response in dealing with and handling public health emergencies using the COVID-19 experience as a case study. This was also intended to improve future disease outbreak responses based on documented lessons learned and best practices from COVID-19 preparedness and response.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Monday reminded the gathering that on the 5th of May, there were recommendations from the International Health Committee (IHC) on the COVID-19 response, and amongst them was that countries should immediately conduct AAR and make transition. According to him, due to this, Liberia is now among the very first few countries in Africa to do this, adding, “I think this is laudable for Liberia. In addition, we want to congratulate Liberia for a very good fight for the COVID response.”
He also recounted Liberia’s efforts to register fewer cases among the few countries on the continent; this, he said, was not because the virus was not here but because of the full implementation of the tools that were brought on board to respond to COVID-19. Other countries. He also pointed out that due to Liberia’s performance in the fight, other countries have taken lessons from the country in areas such as vaccination, community best approach, community surveillance, case management, and treatment of COVID-19 among other good practices that Liberia has also done tremendously well in Africa.
Dr. Monday: “All these are documented now, and other countries are learning from our experience, which is highly commendable.” He also reaffirmed WHO’s commitment to providing technical support to the Ministry of Health in ensuring that Liberia remains healthy and safe for health emergencies.
Meanwhile, Acting Minister of Health Dr. Norwu Howard expressed enthusiasm and appreciation to WHO for the continued collaboration and support provided to the government of Liberia through the Ministry. “I would like to take this time, on behalf of the Minister Dr. Williamena Jallah, to express our gratitude for the consistent diplomatic relationship and innumerable amounts of assistance received from both our team and partners (WHO) before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. We can’t pay you, but we want to appreciate you,” she noted.
She expressed hope that they will finalize these plans and that they will not be left undone but updated. “We anticipate that after this, it will help [the] community prepare for emergencies and institutionalize the prevention of public health disease by improving every sector.
Howard: “It is our expectation that by the time this document is completed and shared, we will have the opportunity to make some more input if the need be. We have to take recommendations across the board while taking a look at what is happening in neighboring countries in terms of best practices.”
At the same time, Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Francis Kateh, lauded the participants for their turnout, saying that “this After-Action Review plays a critical role in the public health emergency management sector.” Dr. Kateh pointed out that after review, the country has to be sincere within itself, looking at the things that it didn’t do right.
The program was also graced by several partners, including Dr. Amadous Alassane Cisse of UNICEF Liberia and Madam Claudette Grant, the Country director of the United States Center For Disease Control (US CDC), among others.