Our message to the locals is that we are here to help and we will do the best we can.

IOM was hosted on UNMIL Radio’s flagship programme ‘Coffee Break’ (on 10/12) where Andrew Lind, IOM Liberia Project Coordinator spoke about plans to provide care to the people of Grand Bassa County at the Ebola treatment unit (ETU) in Buchanan. He explained,

“This initiative is part of the overall Government of Liberia initiative to have ETUs in all of the counties of Liberia. IOM committed to handling and supporting the ETUs in Grand Bassa, Bomi and Grand Cape Mount.

Grand Bassa is one of the places that was identified as a hotspot with a need for an ETU. We discussed this with the donor, USAID and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to determine which particular sites we would take on.

IOM manages the overall facility and we have … a foreign medical team and we also hire close to 150 and more national staff. Overall coordination is under the oversight of the County Health Officer and County Health Team of Grand Bassa because we work within the system of the Ministry of Health.

The ETU once it does come online… will begin with a small amount and primarily any patients that are currently in isolation…as we start moving forward we will have ambulances and other support. People need to get to the ETUs as quick as possible.

One of the things we found is that it is very difficult when people wait too long, to save their lives. But it is much more effective if they know they had contact with an Ebola patient or someone who died and that they have a fever, they need to get to the ETU to be supported. And that’s what helps people have a better chance of survival.”

Source: 
Listen to the full interview here