Time Magazine honours action medeor partner Dr Jerry Brown as a Person of the Year

Joint press release from action medeor and GIZ

Tönisvorst. The Ebola outbreak has already claimed more than 6,300 lives in West Africa. The situation is especially hazardous for the medical staff involved, for their constant exposure to people with the disease means that they themselves face a high risk of becoming infected. What is more, the very large amount of patients is particularly demanding for doctors and nurses working in weak health systems. Almost 350 health workers have already fallen victim to the disease.

Time Magazine has now paid tribute to this work by naming the medics dealing with the Ebola epidemic as ‘Persons of the Year’. One of the medical professionals profiled in the magazine is Dr Jerry Brown, Medical Director at the Eternal Love Winning Africa Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia, who is engaged in the day-to-day fight against Ebola.

The isolation ward set up by action medeor with financial support from the Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation is attached to ELWA and is also headed by Dr Brown. He and his team have been treating Ebola patients here since October. The action medeor project is led by Dr Margret Gieraths-Nimene, who has been running a clinic in Liberia for the past 30 years. ‘I’m delighted that Dr Brown has been recognised in this way. He has earned it: thanks to his tireless commitment, skills and compassion, he has saved countless lives over the past few months,’ says Dr Gieraths-Nimene.

The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is coordinated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. ‘Without people like Dr Jerry Brown, we won’t win the fight against Ebola. His work deserves the utmost respect,’ says Marina Mdaihli, GIZ Country Director in Liberia and Sierra Leone. action medeor employee Andrea Eller, who manages the project from Tönisvorst in North Rhine-Westphalia, is grateful for the support from the German Government. ‘We urgently need this help to get the epidemic under control. We are very pleased that we are having some initial success and the number of cases in Liberia is decreasing.’