[Remarks as Prepared]
His Excellency, President George Weah
Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah, Minister of Health
Other Officials of the Government of Liberia
His Excellency Jakob Haselhubert, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany
Niels Scott, United Nations Resident Coordinator
Dr. Peter Clement, World Health Organization Country Representative
Other Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Development Partners
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
On behalf of the Government of the United States, I extend our sincere congratulations to the Government of Liberia for the establishment of this Oxygen Production facility.
And I thank the German and Canadian Governments whose funding made this possible.
As we celebrate the opening of this facility, we join Liberians in celebrating another major health achievement.
Liberia is one of the first African countries to achieve the World Health Organization's goal of fully vaccinating 70 percent of its population against COVID-19.
Liberia achieved this enviable vaccination rate because of strong partnership between Liberians and the international community.
Liberians working at all levels of the national health system share credit for this accomplishment:
- The national-level leaders, many of whom are here today;
- The county-level teams and officers-in-charge;
- The physicians, nurses, and physicians assistants;
- and the community health workers across all of Liberia's 15 counties
They were at the forefront of Liberia’s fight against COVID-19.
They were leading awareness campaigns and combating vaccine hesitancy.
They were in communities getting vaccines into arms.
I had the great pleasure of meeting some of these dedicated men and women when I visited the Salala Clinic last week.
The enthusiasm and selfless dedication they bring to the job of caring for the sick deserves special recognition.
COVID-19 is not over.
In Liberia and around the world we have turned a new page in the response to the pandemic.
We did so because of smart investments we made in tackling the disease.
The oxygen production plant we are inaugurating today is an example of how those investments are building a more resilient Liberian healthcare system – improving basic care now while preparing for the future.
We would like to see Liberia replicate its successful COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. Liberia must now make even greater gains in routine childhood vaccinations that protect Liberian children against deadly, but preventable, diseases.
The fight against COVID-19 has taught us some useful lessons.
It taught us the importance of strong collaboration with our Liberian partners.
It showed us the value of effective coordination between health authorities at the national and county levels.
And we once again learned about the gains that come from using local voices as agents of behavioral change.
We eagerly look forward to building on these lessons with you all.
They must inform our efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery in Liberia.
They must guide us as we work to build a surveillance system that timely detects and responds to future outbreaks of diseases.
This new oxygen plant is a small but important step in our drive to ensure Liberia has the resources to respond to health crises and provide its people quality care.
On behalf of the United States, I offer our thanks and congratulations to everyone who made this achievement possible.
Thank you.
