Monrovia - The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Farid Zarif was today among dignitaries at the groundbreaking ceremony by Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for the construction of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) at SKD Boulevard Junction, Monrovia.
NPHIL was established in early December 2016 through a bill in the Liberian legislature to help strengthen existing infection prevention and control efforts, laboratories, surveillance, infectious disease control, public health capacity building, response to outbreaks, and monitoring of diseases with epidemic potential.
The outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa three years ago, highlighted the need for the establishment of a public health institute in Liberia, which supports national health delivery services.
Construction of the NPHIL institute is supported by the US Government. NPHIL also partners with the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC), the African Field Epidemiology Training Network and International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI).
Senior Liberian Government officials, US Ambassador to Liberia Christine Ann Elder and representatives of the international community in attendance were amongst the key guests at the event.