Our response to COVID19 in Liberia

The GPFA-USA Emergency Relief Fund addresses the COVID19 in Liberia by supporting a public health approach that links peace, health, and education.

With strategies honed in the Women’s Peace Movement, GPFA took on a key leadership role in the civil society response to the 2014-15 Ebola crisis by engaging urban and rural community- based organizations, religious groups, and local media to provide truthful and easy to understand messages to prevent the spread of Ebola. We are doing the same and more now to fight the spread of COVID19.

The Legacy of Civil War and Ebola in Liberia

Liberia was at the epicenter of the West African Ebola outbreak in 2014 and 2015, resulting in more than 4,800 deaths that exposed Liberia’s weak health infrastructure.

Before the outbreak, Liberia had fewer than 300 doctors to care for the entire population. Today, Liberia’s health care system lacks both modern equipment and trained doctors.

Liberia is currently experiencing significant fuel shortages, and many communities are without water (to wash, sanitize and drink), as it is the end of the dry season.

Access to public health information remains a major challenge, especially for people living in rural communities.

A gift to the GPFA-USA Emergency Relief Fund will support:

emergency health training and grants for community-based organizations

awareness raising activities (radio jingles, press releases, distribution of printed materials describing the symptoms, modes of transmission and hygiene protocols)

distribution of sanitation items like buckets and soap

drama performances on the symptoms and prevention of Coronavirus in both English and the local dialects

educational campaigns designed for social media and radio

Liberian peacebuilding and education programs, like grants and scholarships for youth that empower recipients and promote their health and well-being

We are also seeking to raise $225,000 to build Liberia’s first PUBLIC HEALTH RADIO STATION on the GPFA campus in Margibi County, Liberia. Currently, only two radio stations consistently broadcast one-hour health programs once weekly in English, leaving out the large illiterate population who do not read, write or speak English. This will be a game changer for the country.