GAIA Nursing Scholarship Program: Update from Liberia

In 2015, GAIA expanded its scholarship program to Liberia to aid the ailing health system in the wake of the Ebola epidemic, offering 8 scholarships to nurses committed to working in the public sector after graduation. These GAIA Scholars are nearly halfway through their nursing program at Mother Patern College of Health Sciences. They are on track to graduate in 2017. Click here to hear from Gladys, one of our grateful Scholars.

Since March 2014, West Africa has experienced the largest outbreak of Ebola in history, with Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone most affected. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 28,000 people were infected and more than 11,000 lost their lives.

Thankfully, the Ebola epidemic in West Africa no longer represents a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. In Liberia, the outbreak was declared over in May 2015. However, flare-ups of the disease continue in the region. Guinea’s most recent flare-up was just declared over on June 1, 2016 and more flare-ups are anticipated in the months to come. Health workers must remain on high alert and be ready to respond. GAIA Scholars are eager to join their country’s response upon graduation.

Thanks to support like yours, GAIA has been part of the effort to recover and strengthen the health systems devastated by Ebola. The WHO says that the region now has the detection and response capacities in place to effectively manage ongoing flare-ups of Ebola, pointing to the swift response and rapid containment of recent small outbreaks “We lost a lot of our nurses and practitioners. We learned about the universal precautions… Now we know how to protect ourselves and our patients.” GAIA Nursing Scholar in Liberia.

GAIA’s effective and scalable programs are making a difference in the world where the need is greatest and we simply could not do it without your help.

Zikomo!

Todd Schafer
GAIA CEO & President