MONROVIA-The Liberia Coordinating Mechanism (LCM), known globally as Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) will Friday, March 18, 2021 host its first consultative dialogue engagement meeting with journalists in Monrovia under the theme: “Expanding Media Engagement and Keeping Issues of HIV, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria High on The News Agenda.”
The engagement dialogue is expected to bring together about 40 practicing journalists at a local entertainment center, with support from USAID in partnership with the Global Fund, to discuss issues around the media response to health-related subjects in Liberia including COVID 19.
The consultative dialogue engagement with the journalists’ program is taking place a week ahead of the celebration of this year’s World TB Day. World Tuberculosis Day is observed on 24 March each year. It is designed to build public awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis and efforts to eliminate the disease. In 2018, 10 million people fell ill with TB, and 1.5 million died from the disease, mostly in low and middle-income countries like Liberia. The bulk of these resources directed toward TB control is provided by the Global Fund.
Established in 2006, the LCM is a national body responsible for the development and submission of funding applications to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) on behalf of Liberia. The LCM also nominates Principal Recipient(s) to execute grants awarded by the Global Fund, oversees grant implementation and ensures linkages and consistency between Global Fund grants and other national health and development programs in Liberia.
Liberia benefits from a three (3) years Global Fund grant of over US$101.745 for HIV, TB, and Malaria, including building resilient and sustainable systems for health and reducing the impact of COVID 19 on Liberia (US$77.7 million grant support to HIV, TB, and Malaria, including building resilient and sustainable systems for health, and US$24.045 million to fight COVID 19).
The Liberia Ministry of Health and Plan International are two Principal Recipients (PRs) for the Global Fund grants.
The LCM as the medium through which the Global Fund is supporting Liberia’s health sector believes partnership with media will help reduce myths and misconceptions about the three diseases – TB/HIV and Malaria – as well as increase demand for public confidence and access to health services utilization as part of its communication strategy.
Meanwhile, Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah, Liberia’s Minister of Health is expected to officially declare the dialogue open; while Madam Jessica Healey of USAID; Dr. Peter L. Clement of the World Health Organization; Mr. Charles B Coffey, Jr., president of the Press Union of Liberia; and Madam Joyce Kilikpo, Executive Director of the Public Health Initiative Liberia and Chairperson of the LCM will deliver separate remarks during the opening session of the dialogue with journalists.
Likewise, specific presentations with focus on the three diseases- TB, HIV and Malaria as well as COVID 19 will be delivered by both Ministry of Health and Plan International Liberia as PRs. Mr. William E. Walker, Jr., Head of Secretariat of the LCM, and Necus Andrews, Founder of the Anti-AIDS Media Network will also facility different sessions on the overview of the LCM and the role of the media in the National Health Response using the National Health Guide for Journalists and Media Practitioners, respectively.
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