On January 18, 2024, the SURGE Medical Team from Sierra Leone paid a courtesy visit to His Excellency Ambassador Eddie S. Massally, Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Liberia.
The purpose of this visit was to officially inform the Embassy about their presence and the reason for their visit to Liberia, which they said was to provide essential medical assistance to the victims of the December 26, 2023, tanker explosion in the Totota area of Lower Bong County, Liberia.
Ambassador Eddie S. Massally, together with his deputy, Jonathan A. Saffa, and the Head of Chancery, Mrs. Sia A. Tejan, warmly welcomed the team at the Embassy. Ambassador Massally commended them for their visit and emphasised the importance of bilateral cooperation between the two neighbouring countries. He added that strengthening the country’s institutions through such interventions to save lives, particularly in the face of disasters like the Totota fire incident, was a laudable venture.
Dr. Abdulai Jalloh, the head of the medical team, expressed gratitude on behalf of his colleagues for the warm reception from the ambassador and his staff. He mentioned the positive reception from the Liberian authorities and their collaboration with JFK Hospital and St. Joseph’s Catholic Hospital, saying that medical interventions had been successful, leading the Liberian government to request an extension of their stay for an additional week. Dr. Jalloh also informed the Embassy that, in addition to providing clinical care to the burn victims, the team was also actively involved in knowledge transfer to their Liberian counterparts.
The medical team, led by Dr. Abdulai Jalloh, a plastic and burn surgeon, comprised Dr. Mohamed Alieu Kargbo (anaesthetist), Dr. Nadia N. Yilla, a plastic surgery medical officer, Maximillian Obed Bangura (burns nurse), Raliatu Omolaja (burns nurse), Jesseh Banguah (burns physiotherapist), Shole Beckley (pharmacist), and Samuel S. Kargbo (senior HR officer at the National Public Health Agency).
