Monrovia—The National Public Health Institute of Liberia is once again attracting the attention of several donors and partners, geared at mobilizing support for the institution to carry out effective public health services, following the loss of trust in the institution by partners in recent years. Since Dr. Mosoka Fallah’s dismissal in early September 2020, NPHIL has struggled to get major donor support, but the recent pronouncement of Mr.
Amos Gborie as Acting Director General by the NPHIL Board of Director seems to captivate the attention of several donors and partners who recently re-committed their support to the institution. Investigation has gathered that during a major partner meeting on July 18, 2024, just a month following Mr. Gborie’s appointment, attended by the World Health Organization, USAID, the Global Fund, United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention among others, NPHIL was assured by these major donor partners of their support.
The organizations also assured NHPIL that the trust once lost would be regained, expressing their confidence in Mr. Gborie, who has worked with them over the years. As a demonstration of its confidence in the board and acting leadership, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently organized a planning workshop in preparation for the establishment of a Center of Excellence at NPHIL.
These major developments are being gained, just a few weeks following Gborie’s appointment and in the wake of the ongoing initiatives by the Board of Directors of NPHIL which includes a vetting process for a permanent leadership team. The Board of Directors itself is fully involved with the NPHIL rebranding process, which is supervised in line with the Act establishing NPHIL. The rebranding process also considered an appointment of a highly qualified Public Health Expert as interim head, for which Mr.
Gborie was signaled by the board to begin the said initiative. Mr. Amos Gborie is a highly qualified and experienced Environmental Public Health Specialist with a high moral standard.
However, since he was appointed Acting Head of NPHIL, our investigation observed that Mr. Gborie has begun to face media propaganda from individuals who are eyeing similar positions and are bent on defaming his reputation. Fight Against Gborie In the wake of these new developments at NPHIL by the Board of Directors and the Gborie-led Interim Leadership, sources within the corridor of NPHIL have hinted that there is an intense fight against Mr.
Gborie and the Board’s initiative to institute appropriate measures at NPHIL, in line with President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s ARREST Agenda. Some detractors are reportedly unhappy about these measures, which they believe would jeopardize their interests. Recently, a news report published in Smart News Liberia reported a story intending to defame Gborie’s reputation in which it referenced the scandal that led to the dismissal of Dr.
Mosoka Fallah in 2020. The paper alleged that Gborie was suspended for fraud at NPHIL and questioned why he was appointed as acting director of the institution. Gborie Exonerated From Wrongdoing However, our research carried out revealed that Mr.
Amos Gborie, Fahn Taweh, and Jonathan Enders were investigated and exonerated from any wrongdoing at NPHIL. A FrontPageAfrica September 2, 2020 edition also reported a story on findings exonerating the three Public Health Experts from any fraud or mismanagement at NPHIL. That investigation led to the dismissal of Dr.
Mosoka Fallah by President George Weah as Director-General of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia following an investigative report into his management of NPHIL and the continuous contradictory COVID-19 reports. His dismissal was recommended by the investigative team headed by Dr. Linda Birch who was mandated by President Weah to investigate reports of irregularities at the NPHIL at the time.
The investigative committee found that Dr. Fallah willfully refused to attend meetings of the Incident Management System for several weeks because he was not appointed to head one of the COVID-19 Response Pillars of the IMS. Dr.
Fallah also, according to the investigative findings, developed a parallel system and protocol contrary to the IMS policies that he had endorsed. He also unilaterally started approving certificates for travelers without endorsement by the IMS. The committee stated that Dr.
Fallah admitted that he did not inform his staff that this was not a system endorsed by the IMS, but indicated that it was a convenient system to save the country from the lapses of delayed results. He also issued hundreds of letters for traveling without approval of the IMS which the committee viewed as putting the country and the whole world at further risk. The investigation indicated that the letters were physically signed by him while others were electronically signed by his office staff.
The investigation did not link Mr. Gborie and the two others as reported recently. Since that investigation, Mr.
Gborie has continued to demonstrate his professionalism and passion for the Health Sector, owing to his experience in the sector. He has served in various capacities during national health emergencies, with the last being his crucial role played during the coronavirus Disease response..
