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Zawya
an hour ago
- Health
- Zawya
Liberia: The Ministry of Health (MOH), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Launch Community Health Structure Orientation in Three Counties
The Ministry of Health (MOH), through its Community Health Program and in collaboration with UNICEF, has launched a comprehensive orientation for the reactivation and activation of Community Health Structures in Bomi, Gbarpolu, and Grand Cape Mount Counties. The program spans 431 communities and is focused on strengthening Community Health Committees (CHCs) and Health Facility Development Committees (HFDCs). The goal is to improve community-based healthcare delivery and ensure access to essential health services in the most remote parts of these counties. At the official launch ceremony, Gbarpolu County Health Officer (CHO), Dr. Kezelebah S. Goyah, expressed his appreciation and underscored the importance of the initiative. 'On behalf of the Gbarpolu County Health Team, I want to welcome you all and thank you for attending this activity,' Dr. Goyah stated. 'It is an honor to officially open this orientation on the reactivation and activation of our community health structures. The Community Health Program is vital to the health sector, as it enables us to reach people in the most remote areas of the county. Ensuring the program is functional and that everyone understands the structure is key. Once again, I declare this activity officially open.' Representing UNICEF, Madame Jestina K. Dennis reiterated the agency's commitment to supporting Liberia's healthcare system through the Ministry of Health. 'On behalf of UNICEF, I want to thank the Gbarpolu County Health Team and the Ministry of Health,' she said. 'UNICEF's role is to support the government through the Ministry—not by giving money to individuals, but by backing structured efforts. Our mission centers around the well-being of children, who are at the heart of every community. I appreciate the collaboration with the County Health Team and commend the Community Health Program for launching this important session.' Delivering remarks on behalf of the Ministry of Health, Madame Joyce Junius, Deputy Director – Community Health Program, emphasized the purpose and significance of the orientation. 'We are here to reactivate and activate community health structures in the various Community Health Assistant (CHA) communities,' Junius stated. 'Our team will work alongside you to ensure these structures are fully functional. As the CHO said, this program is unique and essential in reducing sickness in our communities. These structures, CHCs and HFDCs, are very effective when operational. They support local efforts and save lives. When CHAs are unavailable, these committees will step in to carry out critical roles.' She added, 'Some of you may be hearing about CHCs and HFDCs for the first time. Each has specific roles at both the community and facility levels, which we'll cover in our presentations. We are not here because we know everything, we are here for interactive learning and to correct misunderstandings for these structures to truly work for the people.' The orientation is expected to enhance grassroot health governance and improve the quality of health services by reactivating and activating community health structures throughout Bomi, Gbarpolu, and Grand Cape Mount Counties. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Republic of Liberia.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
9/11 first responders still facing delays despite funding restored to health program
NEW YORK - Staffing reductions by the Department of Government Efficiency have led to major delays in healthcare services for thousands 9/11 first responded and survivors. While funding cuts were reversed in February following public backlash, staffing shortages and long wait times remain an ongoing problem. What we know In February, DOGE implemented a 20% staff reduction within the World Trade Center Health Program, a federal initiative under the CDC that provides medical care to 9/11 first responders and survivors. Although some funding was reinstated following public backlash, many positions remain unfilled, causing prolonged delays in patient services. Michael Barasch, an attorney representing the 9/11 community, highlighted the issue: "The rules are that you can't get treated until you're certified with a 9/11 illness. But if you can't get an appointment to get your illness certified, that's essentially taking away your treatment." The backstory Established to offer free annual health exams and treatment for 9/11-related conditions, the World Trade Center Health Program currently serves approximately 130,000 individuals nationwide. The program's efficiency has been compromised due to staffing cuts, affecting its ability to certify new patients and provide timely care. Retired FDNY Lt. Michael O'Connell shared his experience: "In 2007, I wound up developing a very rare autoimmune disease called sarcoidosis. The World Trade Center Health Program literally saves lives. It saved me." What's next In addition to restoring the funding that was previously cut, advocates for the 9/11 community are now pushing lawmakers in Washington to increase federal support by another $3 billion. They argue that more than two decades after the Twin Towers collapsed, people are still getting sick—and still dying—from 9/11-related conditions.
Washington Post
02-04-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
HHS layoffs include head of the World Trade Center Health Program
The Trump administration this week fired the longtime head of a federal program that provides medical benefits to first responders and survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, alarming advocates who said the move could disrupt care for the program's more than 100,000 beneficiaries. John Howard, administrator of the World Trade Center Health Program, lost his job under the sweeping layoffs that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered across U.S. health agencies as the administration continues to slash the federal workforce.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump, Kennedy job cuts gut World Trade Center health program, paralyze care
NEW YORK — The Trump administration has gutted the agency overseeing the World Trade Center Health Program, a move advocates say will wreak havoc on the program's operations and bring critical operations to a standstill. Tens of thousands of responders and survivors rely on the WTC Health Program to get treatment and medication and monitor injuries and illnesses caused by the toxins that swirled around ground zero during the 9/11 attacks and the weeks that followed. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. has launched the gutting process of laying off around two-thirds of the staff at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, a federal health agency. The World Trade Center Health Program is housed under NIOSH, which in turn is part of the Centers for Disease Control. Around 873 positions are to be culled — including that of Dr. John Howard, the head of NIOSH and the administrator of the 9/11 first responders health treatment and monitoring program. No other WTC Health Program employees have been fired, but the program relies on doctors, epidemiologists and administrative staffers who work for the broader agency, so the NIOSH firings pose a threat, survivor advocates claim. Key tasks such as evaluating new applications to the program are done by NIOSH doctors. 'These cuts to NIOSH will be devastating to the World Trade Center Health Program and must be stopped. The first step must be restoring Dr. Howard as NIOSH Director immediately,' Benjamin Chevat, executive director of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, said in a statement, calling the move 'another example of chainsaw incompetence.' John Feal, a longtime 9/11 survivor advocate who led a team to Washington, D.C., to urge passage of the James Zadroga Act — which created the WTC Health Program — called the cutting of NIOSH and Dr. Howard's firing 'the most reckless, careless, unconscionable, disgusting and vile act against those in the 9/11 community that has been committed since Sept. 11, 2001.' 'Welcome to being part of the atrocity because you have bellied up to the bar for a drink with those who caused that fateful day,' said Feal. 'You have damaged thousands of people in an instant with your actions today, you have caused irreparable PTSD with your actions today and you have torn thousands of families apart with your actions today. 'You have spit in the faces of the 9/11 community for the last time,' he said. It's now unclear how the program will be run and who, if not NIOSH staffers, will handle contracts, communications, HR, grants and other essential operations This all comes despite the fact that drastic cuts to the 9/11 program were reversed earlier this year after Republican lawmakers sounded the alarm. The rare reversal from Trump in February saw him restore two research grants and the jobs of 16 employees. 'After cutting this program's staff directly a few weeks ago and having to rescind those cuts under pressure we would have thought that the Trump administration or the new HHS Secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr. would have learned their lesson and would have thought before cutting, but that, sadly, was not the case,' Chevat said. The program was also threatened under the last Trump administration. In 2018, the White House proposed reshuffling the agency to put it under the purview of just the CDC. It's estimated that over 400,000 people were affected by the toxins swirling over ground zero. More than 127,000 people have been enrolled in the WTC Health Program. Out of that number more than 81,000 have a certified 9/11 illness from their exposure during and after the terror attacks on the World Trade Center, as well as the hijacked plane crashes in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon, according to the program's website. ______
USA Today
18-02-2025
- Health
- USA Today
9/11 health program cuts to cause 'life and death' delays, fired worker says
NEW YORK — Just before his confirmation as secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged to help 9/11 responders and survivors, two U.S. senators from New York said Tuesday. But a day after he got the job, the Trump administration and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency hit the World Trade Center Health Program. Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are now demanding Kennedy reverse "the rash and counterproductive terminations" and ensure ongoing healthcare for "those who answered the call on 9/11 and are now sick with respiratory ailments, cancer and other conditions." Up to 20% of staff at the WTC Health Program were impacted by cuts of probationary workers and buyouts. HHS oversees the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which houses the WTC program. The impact is exacerbated, elected officials and fired workers say, by DOGE cuts to scientific research and last year's scrapping of permanent funding for the WTC program by Congress. "These cuts are going to impact member care directly," said Anthony Gardner, one of the WTC program staff who was notified via email on Saturday, Feb. 15, that he'd lost his job. "For some of these members these delays are going to be life and death." HHS and CDC did not immediately return requests for comment. USA TODAY has also reached out to the White House requesting comment. U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, whose Hudson Valley district is home to many 9/11 responders, on Monday said he was talking with the Trump administration about the cuts. "I am aware of the serious concerns pertaining to the WTC (Health Program) and have been working through the weekend with the White House to reverse the decision and ensure there are no impacts on providing care to our brave 9/11 heroes," said Lawler, a Republican whose 17th District includes New York City's suburbs in the lower Hudson Valley. "There is nothing more important to me than fighting for our first responders and I won't stop until this is rectified." The union representing approximately 20,000 active and retired New York City firefighters cite statements by Musk and the Trump administration that if mistakes happen during the DOGE cuts, they'll correct them. 'This is a mistake that needs to be corrected, and corrected quickly,' Andrew Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, told USA TODAY. 'No one has ever accused the World Trade Center Health Program of being run inefficiently, and no one has ever questioned the need for America to fund the health care program that helps the first responders, rescue workers and civilians.' Rupa Bhattacharyya, former special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, said WTC Health provides support for people in all 50 states. WTC program cuts mean "that the heroes of 9/11 will face longer wait times, reduced services, and delays in receiving their compensation" through the VCF, which depends on certifications from WTC Health Program doctors. "It is unconscionable."Battacharyya now serves of the boards of 9/11 Health Watch and Citizens for the Extension of the Zadroga Act. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, said the cuts need to be reversed, calling them reckless and "flat-out cruel." 'Thousands of New Yorkers made heroic sacrifices to save others during this attack and are experiencing lifelong health impacts as a result," she said in a statement. "These heroes deserve the utmost respect and care from their government.' Related CDC cuts: How will the World Trade Center Health Program be impacted? Helping 9/11 responders in memory of a lost brother Gardner found out he had been terminated from his job at the World Trade Center Health Program on the night of Saturday, Feb. 15, via a work email. The elimination of his co-workers, including some who process claims and review treatments, will lead to delays he said. There are currently 130,000 WTC program members getting monitored, getting treatment, or both. Gardner has already submitted a rebuttal letter to his firing. But he wants more. "No matter what happens, I'm really hoping that President Trump takes a closer look, especially to the cuts to these programs, how catastrophic they can be," he said. "I can't believe that's an intended consequence." He noted that DOGE purports to fight fraud and abuse of federal funds. The WTC program is charged with preventing fraud and abuse by overseeing contracted providers and screening program applicants. "We make sure they meet criteria laid out by the Zadroga Act." Gardner has been with the WTC program for four years, originally as a contractor. About a year and a half ago, he was brought on as the public affairs specialist. His experience was beyond the "probationary" level, not only in this job but in practically his entire professional career. Gardner is a former senior vice president of government and community affairs for the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund. He's volunteered with the 9/11 responder community. "The mission is very important to me," Gardner said. It's also deeply personal. Harvey Gardner, Anthony's older brother by 10 years, was working for General Telecom on the 83rd floor in the north tower during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Harvey Gardner and his IT General Telecom co-workers were above the impact zone of the first plane. They were trying to get to a stairwell, Harvey told their brother, Mark, during a phone call during the search. "Harvey was trying to comfort his co-workers," Anthony Gardner recalled. "The courage that he showed, the compassion that he showed as he was facing the horror of the end of their lives together, has always inspired me." A commitment through 2090 The World Trade Center Health Program provides health monitoring and treatment for 9/11-related health conditions. Responders, including police, firefighters, clean-up workers and others who worked in rescue and recovery efforts around the World Trade Center site can qualify for the health program. So can those who lived, worked or went to school in Lower Manhattan during and in the months after the terrorist attacks. The program also supports people exposed at the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. The health program was established as part of the 2011 James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Dozens of health impacts have been found among those exposed to the toxic swirl around ground zero on and in the months after Sept. 11, 2001. Other DOGE cuts to research grants also jeopardizes ongoing studies that could slow down additional health problems from being included in WTC program coverage. 'Any research that comes out of World Trade Center Health Care Program can be applied to the long-term care of American firefighters,' Ansbro said. Getting Zadroga passed in 2011 took heavy lobbying; images of first responders, weakened by 9/11 illness, walking the halls of Congress pushed lawmakers to act. The WTC program is mandated through 2090. But funding shortages are perpetual. The new threat has angered because when Trump and Musk blew up a December 2024 year-end omnibus budget plan, a permanent funding mechanism for World Trade Center Health Program was one of the casualties. The program has faced consequences of careless actions even before that, said Benjamin Chevat, executive director at Citizens for Extension of the James Zadroga Act. In 2018, Trump's then-Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney tried to terminate the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Chevat said, "but did not seem to understand the extent that NIOSH was a critical part of the WTC Health Program." "That proposal was stopped then," Chevat said, "and these cuts need to be reversed now.' USA TODAY's Eduardo Cuevas contributed to this report.
