Monrovia, Liberia – A video conferencing system has been installed at the National Public Health Institute of Liberia, NPHIL to limit the number of people present in the hall during meetings.

According to the World Food Programme, the facility is in compliance with the social distancing measure put in place by Health Authorities to curb further spread of the Corona virus.

WFP Representative and Country Director Karla Hershey vowed the Agency’s readiness to assist the government and people of Liberia to fight the corona virus in the Country.

Ms. Hershey re-iterated the WFP’s commitment to stand with the people and government of Liberia during this emergency time.

A WFP release said the facility was built at NPHIL because it is the central coordination point of the Incident Management System (IMS) that is leading the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

WFP said it is also providing quality internet services at the Liberia Institute of Biomedical Research (LIBR) in Marshall, Margibi County where COVD-19 tests are taking place. It is also constructing of a mobile storage unit at LIBR which is nearing completion.

The release quotes WFP as describing Emergency telecommunications (ETC) as instrumental in allowing for a consistent and reliable flow of information among partners to respond to the crisis.

According to WFP, ETC is even more critical in the context of COVID-19, where it contributes to complying with social distancing measures and ensuring the safety of all stakeholders involved in the response.

Since the outbreak of coronavirus in Liberia, WFP has been at the forefront of providing essential logistics, emergency telecommunications, and warehousing support to the government-led response. 

In a related development, WFP said it is currently prepositioning over 1,700 metric tons of assorted food items in Nimba and Maryland Counties for distribution to students as take-home rations as part of the national home-grown school feeding program should the closure of schools last longer than expected.