Monrovia — As the COVID-19 is on the increase in Liberia, the Cummings Africa Foundation has joined the by announcing his foundation’s commitment of US$150,000 to aid in the fight of the killer disease.
“I am pleased to announce that the Foundation is committing US$150,000 which is $25 million Liberian Dollars as our initial contribution to this fight. My fellow Liberians, I cannot ask you to do your part, and don’t do mine. At the Cummings Africa Foundation, we are doing all we can to do our part,” said Mr. Alexander Cummings, Founder and CEO of the Cummings Africa Foundation.
He said the US$150k commitment doubles the US$75,000 the Cummings Foundation provided during the lockdown last year in food and household materials across the country.
He said the Cummings Foundation will continue to do what it can to help the people of Liberia during these difficult times, and will assist as best as they (Foundation) can to help the government in its response.
He noted that the Foundation is moving quickly to purchase, and hurriedly provide to hospitals, much-needed medical supplies like oxygen, drugs, masks, gloves, gowns, oximeters, cleaning supplies and hand-washing buckets among others to help fight virus.
He disclosed that at the Cummings Africa Foundation, the approach is in three-fold, saying; “First, we are providing support to some public and private hospitals as best as we can. The needs are many, and I know we cannot do it all, or alone. Our hands can only reach so far. But we are trying as best as we can to increase the current capacities of hospitals to respond to the increasing numbers of sick and infected people,” he noted.
He also noted that, “Secondly, we will work with community leaders, civil society organizations, and the media to increase public awareness and messaging especially around prevention. We have already released a jingle, flyers with simple messages and working on a skit for our community radio stations. As these are life-saving messages and public awareness campaigns, I am asking the media, which has been very helpful, to please continue to do their part”.
Cummings said he is of the conviction that the government bears the primary responsibility to lead this fight against the virus.
“We are however trying to help the government succeed in this effort. And so, working with a broader team of experts, we will regularly update the government on what we are doing, and recommend additional steps, as required, to be taken by the government to seriously fight the virus, stop the spread, and end the infections in the country,” he noted.
Alexander Cummings who is also the political leader of the one of Liberia’s leading opposition political party, Alternative National Congress (ANC) calls on Liberians not to politicize the fight of the virus.
He said the Cummings Africa Foundation has provided oxygen for 50 tanks to Catholic Hospital and procured 20 tanks and 20 regulators for CH Rennie hospital to be delivered this weekend.
He told Liberians that the Foundation and its employees are grateful to all health workers in Liberia on the frontline fight this dradly disease.
“All of us at the Cummings Africa Foundation, including my wife Teresa, who chairs the Foundation, Dr. Wede Brownell, the Country Director, and members of the team, are deeply thankful to our doctors, nurses, and medical support staff all across the country, who continue to do their best, in these times and under very difficult, if not impossible circumstances, to save lives. We pray for their safety, and for the continued safety and protection of their families,” he said.
The ANC Political leader said the Liberian society is very low on trust and does not trust each other. He said too many Liberians do not trust the government, and some people do not trust the opposition.
He said many people do not trust the vaccines as well, even as people are dying today, some people still do not believe that the virus is real.
“I also admit that some of the public actions we have seen can only make one doubtful, but doubting the existence of the virus will not make it disappear, Doubts will not protect you from the virus. No more Liberians need to die for anyone to believe that the virus is real. Too many have died already. Too many families are mourning and grieving already. And if we do not act quickly, I am afraid that many will continue to die,” he noted.
He disclosed that he has seen and spoken to those at the frontlines fighting and doing their best to save people’s lives.
“In Montserrado, the hospitals are full. I am getting stories of people dying in cars because there were really no available beds in the hospitals. People are sitting in chairs in hospital hallways to receive oxygen”.
He said funeral homes are overcrowded some are turning grieving families bearing the dead bodies of loved ones away. Right now, people are being advised not to come to our country as our COVID situation has been elevated from Level 1 to Level 4. In the last 8 days, we have had over 700 confirmed cases.
This, Cummings said is no joke. It is real, and it is serious. It is so serious that if we don’t act to respond seriously and quickly, we risk locking ourselves out from the rest of the world.