Former Vice President Bennie D. Warner To Speak At LIHEDE Convention
The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
July 22, 2006
The event is a prelude to the National Health Conference slated to be held in Monrovia on December 14-19, 2006 to bring together health professionals and traditional health practitioners to discuss and develop appropriate strategies to combat the debilitating disease, malaria, in Liberia with the overall goal and objective to eradicate the disease from the country.
"Yes, indeed the presence of malaria must be unexpected in Liberia and the scorch of malaria must be dealth a blow; we must declare war on malaria, illiteracy, ignorance, poverty , unemployment and substandard living among many other things, " Hon. Warner in his letter to the Executive Director of LIHEDE, Dr. Syrulwa Somah, noted.
He noted further that there is so much "our own people can do locally for clean environment; there has to be a declaration of war on mosquitoes-call it Mosquito war." He intimated that this should be one of the major clean-up programs of the nation because healthy citizens are an asset to national progress and development; whereas sick citizens are a liability to the nation.
"The general health of the nation is a vital part of the national reconstruction program and it is therefore in the vital national interest and should take priority; the human resources is a valuable asset of a nation " he told the LIHEDE boss.
He then commended LIHEDE for the invitation to participate in such a well meaning event, adding, " it is accepted with delight and I shall look forward to being with you on September 30, 2006."
In response, Dr. Somah told the former Vice President "we at LIHEDE would be honored to have you and other distinguished personalities come and add blessing to this gathering to defeat malaria in Liberia."
An official of USAID has already consented to serve as the Keynote Speaker at the event. Dr. Ayan H. Ahmed Noor, Advisor of Health, Disaster and Complex Emergency Assistance at USAID, in a response to LIHEDE, noted that she is excited about the opportunity to share with Liberians and non-Liberians her experience on working on issues concerning malaria in Liberia since " I have been working with the USAID Liberia mission and the Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Health ."
Dr. Noor went further to indicate that her work in Liberia focuses on national health strategy and health sector activities, including malaria. "I have an excellent grasp and understanding of the health challenges which are being faced by the Liberian people and the devastating impact of malaria, " she indicated in her response to LIHEDE's invitation to USAID.
Dr. Syrulwa Somah, Executive Director of LIHEDE, has already expressed gratitude to USAID for accepting to participate in the program aim at creating awareness of the National Health Conference in Liberia among Liberians and friends of Liberia and the impact of this debilitating, but curable disease, malaria, in Liberia.
The LIHEDE boss then extended invitation to members
and well wishers of LIHEDE, friends of Liberia and
the general public to come to Greensboro on September
30, 2006 to spend the entire day with LIHEDE to support
the "Pre-Conference Rally" for the National
Health Conference in Liberia on December 14-19, 2006
under the slogan: "We Want No More Malaria in
Liberia."
Signed:
Sam Togba Slewion
Director of Publications-LIHEDE
See below the Announcement for the Rally:
Come as Liberians and friends of Liberia to lend your
helping hand to this all important cause so that together
we can generate the necessary public awareness and
needed funds for the December Conference in Liberia.
Your presence and contributions are not only crucial
to the success of the malaria campaign, but will also
send the right signal and beacon of hope for a child
who is praying for a miracle from a human angel like
you to rid himself or herself of malaria. Through
these kinds of fundraising activities we can assist
the less fortunate who are at the mercy of malaria
and who need our collective help to break the shackles
of this preventable disease.
We have put together an exciting and educational program
in order to make your stay enjoyable in the City of
Greensboro. We have made arrangements with area hotels,
car rental agencies, and airlines to provide available
discounts to you. We have also contacted radio stations
and local newspapers about the program and informed
them that many Liberians and friends of Liberia will
be in the area, along with the locals, having fun,
sharing experiences about the malaria epidemic in
their country and raising funds for the National Health
Conference.
The preliminary Schedule of Activities for the rally is as follows:
• Continental breakfast 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM
• High-profile speakers to enlighten the participants 11:00 AM to 11: 45 AM (speaker 1)
• Renowned Country Western music star, Corey Lea (www.lilcowtown.com), has agreed to perform his latest recorded song on malaria eradication at the events at 12noon: to 1:00 PM
• Lunch 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
• BneTV of Canada has agreed to broadcast the entire program world-wide via the Internet. A similar service was performed by BnetTV during the LIHEDE Health Symposium last July in Greensboro, NC
• A soccer game between the "Old Timers" of Lone Star and retired players from England. The famous "Monkey Brown" is expected to serve as referee. 3:00pm to 4:45 PM
• Black Tie/Formal Attire dinner (RSVP for 250 persons) 6:30 PM to 8:45 PM (Speaker II)
• Ball from 10:00 p.m. to wee-wee hour
Apart from the above, if you have a story to tell on the scourge of malaria, please join us and share your experience. If you are a musician, a writer with a poem on malaria, or a drummer with a beat for malaria eradication, come and share your artistic depictions. If you are a pastor, reverend, deacon, or Imam, come help to give the best gift, which is the rejuvenation of life itself.
This precious gift of life is being lost in Liberia where children know little peace, as malaria continues to be a principal killer of our people: 20,000 (MOH, 2006) Liberian children die each year from the curable disease. Across the African Continent, an estimated 500 million people contract malaria every year - up to 3 million die (half of them children), and tens of thousands are left with irreversible brain damage.
Come let us begin preparation to bury this national calamity in the dustbin of history. With our collective will, vision, nationalism, and patriotism, we can do just that. Email us at lihede2003@yahoo.com so that we can put you on the program.
I hope that you will honor my request, and join us in Greensboro on September 30. However, if you cannot come, donations are welcome. Other ways you can assist is by disseminating information about the rally and conference, and asking those that you know who may be able to help. Visit us at www.lihede.org for more information and updates on the program. We therefore look forward to your emails or phone calls with any questions that you may have to make you an active participant in the Pre-Conference Rally on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro on Saturday, September 30.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Syrulwa Somah, PhD
Executive Director-LIHEDE