Israeli medical teams help worldwide. Illustrative. By Joshua Spurlock
Israel regularly sends medical emissaries to African nations to help them fight disease. Last week, one of those nations sent a high-ranking representative to Israel to connect with their supportive partner. For the first time, the president of upper house of the Liberian legislature paid a visit to Israel’s parliament, known as the Knesset. While there, Armah Zolu Jallah highlighted Israel’s assistance to Liberia in that nation’s battle with the Ebola virus.
A press release on the Knesset’s website on the visit quoted Knesset Speaker Yuli-Yoel Edelstein as telling the Liberian lawmaker, “I am proud that we contributed our share” to help Liberia against Ebola. He continued, “This is a global interest that the State of Israel shares.” The press release noted that Israel has sent them mobile clinics and assisted with medical training and finances.
Among the help sent by Israel to Liberia includes a mobile clinic with beds for patients and protective gear, according to the MASHAV website. MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, started a program to assist with fighting Ebola in multiple African nations in November 2014.
Medical assistance isn’t all Israel does with Liberia, with the desire to cooperate in security, energy and more. The During the Liberian lawmaker’s visit to the Knesset, Edelstein expressed the hope that the nations’ current relationship would deepen. “This is not merely a ceremonial meeting,” the Knesset press release quoted the Speaker as saying. “Rather, it is a starting point for establishing work relations between our parliaments and countries.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, December 19, 2015)