By Jamesetta D Williams
At the end of a nationwide Ebola awareness tour across Liberia’s 15 sub-divisions, the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) has disclosed that it is on high alert, monitoring outflows and inflows of passengers in and out of the country, while also announcing “there are no Ebola cases or suspected cases detected during the exercise.”
NPHIL’s statement seems to point to how the country is still in the throe of unfailing alertness, preparing for any scenario on the current trend of the virus still raging in Eastern Africa, particularly Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, where over 600 lives have been lost to the virus.
At the Ministry of Information press briefing Tuesday, Interim Director General, Dr. Sia Wata Camanor, said the one-month assessment conducted from June 7 to July 8, 2026 is part of Liberia’s proactive response preparedness amid Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda Ebola outbreaks.
The assessment, she said, was the first of its kind conducted nationwide and included visits to official points of entry, regional hospitals, isolation centers, national and regional laboratories, emergency response structures, and engagements with county health teams.
The goal was to ensure that Liberia’s health system is prepared to quickly detect, report, investigate, and respond to any suspected Ebola case before an outbreak occurs, she disclosed.
“Preparedness saves lives, and every investment in preparedness strengthens Liberia’s health security,” Dr. Camanor stated.
She emphasized that while Ebola remains one of Liberia’s greatest public health concerns, strengthening Ebola preparedness also improves the country’s ability to respond to other diseases, including Lassa fever, monkeypox, measles, yellow fever, and other emerging infectious diseases.
The NPHIL Director General explained that the team assessed key areas of Liberia’s public health emergency system, including disease surveillance, early warning systems, case detection and investigation, infection prevention and control measures, isolation facilities, laboratory capacity, specimen transportation, emergency operation centers, rapid response teams, logistics, and cross-border coordination.
She disclosed that the assessment engaged 17 county surveillance officers, 98 district surveillance officers, and 22 zonal surveillance officers.
Dr. Camanor said the assessment found that Liberia’s surveillance personnel are trained and equipped according to international standards through support from partners including the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
She noted, however, that some challenges remain, including limited transportation for surveillance officers at the district level, inadequate equipment at some emergency operation centers, and the need to renovate some isolation facilities.
Dr. Camanor reported that health authorities have screened 987 travelers at the Roberts International Airport since the regional Ebola alert was declared.
She said many of those screened were Liberian pilgrims returning from the Hajj, while others included travelers from high-risk countries.
She praised the National Muslim Council, airport authorities, port health workers, county health teams, and security institutions for their cooperation in ensuring effective monitoring.
According to her, 98 travelers have completed the 21-day observation period without developing symptoms, while others remain under monitoring.
The NPHIL boss said Liberia continues to monitor travelers arriving from high-risk countries, including parts of East Africa, through temperature checks, health declarations, interviews, and coordination with county surveillance teams.
Dr. Camanor also highlighted the importance of cross-border cooperation, particularly with neighboring countries including Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire.
She praised health authorities and joint security institutions for working together despite challenges, including language barriers.
She cited examples from Grand Kru, Bong, and Grand Cape Mount Counties, where county health teams demonstrated commitment and readiness in responding to possible outbreaks.
According to her, the successful detection and response to a yellow fever case in a remote community in Grand Cape Mount County showed that Liberia’s surveillance system is improving.
The NPHIL Director General disclosed that Liberia’s National Public Health Reference Laboratory has the personnel, equipment, and supplies needed to detect and confirm possible Ebola cases.
However, she explained that the Ebola strain currently circulating in the region differs from previous strains, requiring additional testing capacity and possible upgrades to existing equipment.
She said NPHIL is working with partners and private institutions in Tappita and Phebe to strengthen decentralized testing capacity.
Dr. Camanor also identified electricity and infrastructure as challenges affecting some points of entry and emergency facilities.
She thanked the World Bank, US CDC, Africa CDC, and other partners for supporting efforts to provide equipment, solar power solutions, and other resources.
Providing reassurance to the public, Dr. Camanor said the nationwide assessment did not identify any Ebola case or suspected Ebola case in Liberia.
After traveling throughout the breadth of this country, we did not find any Ebola or suspected cases of Ebola,” she said.
However, she cautioned that Liberia must remain prepared because outbreaks in other countries demonstrate the importance of maintaining strong surveillance and response systems.
She urged citizens to practice good hygiene, seek medical attention when experiencing signs of illness, cooperate with health authorities, and rely on verified information from the Ministry of Health and NPHIL.
Dr. Camanor concluded that preparedness remains a critical investment in national security, stressing that Liberia must not wait for an outbreak before taking action.
Preparedness is an investment in national security. We do not have to wait for Ebola before we prepare,” she added.
What’s happening In DRC?
The virus raging in the Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed the lives of over 600 people, according to figures published by the UN health agency, WHO.
The DRC Ebola outbreak has now claimed 600 lives, figures published by the World Health Organization showed, only three days after the figure topped 500.
Updated numbers issued by the UN health agency showed there have been 1,759 confirmed cases in DR Congo since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, including 600 confirmed deaths.
Two other people have died in neighboring Uganda, where 17 patients have recovered out of 20 total confirmed cases.
“The outbreak continues to expand, and its true scale has not yet been fully established,” Anne Ancia, the WHO’s representative in the DRC, said Tuesday.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) last week said the current outbreak was the “fastest-growing ever”.
“This is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever, not only among the previous Bundibugyo outbreaks, but all the different viruses that are causing Ebola,” Dr Wessam Mankoula, head of emergency preparedness and response, told reporters.
The WHO’s figures for the DRC, which come from the health authorities in the vast country, show that the outbreak there has a case fatality rate of 34 percent.
A total of 285 patients in the DRC have recovered, while 304 suspected cases of the viral hemorrhagic fever are under investigation.
The Congolese government’s latest report, published late Wednesday, said two new cases were suspected in Kisangani in the Tshopo province, where cases had not been previously recorded.
According to the report, one of the two suspected cases was linked to the Nia-Nia health zone in Ituri province, where the first cases were reported, while the other case “has no apparent geographical connection to known outbreaks”. Authorities were investigating.
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