Anthony Sieh

Anthony N. Sieh, Jr.

Q: This is Sam Robson. It is March 11th, 2017, and I'm here in Buchanan. This is in Grand Bassa County in Liberia. I'm sitting here with Mr. Anthony Sieh.

SIEH: Junior.

Q: Junior. Here to talk as part of our CDC [United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] Ebola Response Oral History Project about Anthony's own experiences in the Ebola epidemic. Thank you very much for being here, Anthony. I appreciate it. Can I ask you to just say, "my name is," and then your name?

SIEH: My name is Anthony N. Sieh, Jr.

Q: Can you tell me what your current position or job is?

SIEH: Currently, I work with Riders for Health Liberia. I'm the regional supervisor or head courier in the southeastern region in Liberia for the sample transportation couriers of the Riders program.

Q: Can you tell me when and where you were born?

SIEH: Come again?

Q: Can you tell me your date of birth and where you were born?

SIEH: I was born May 26th, 1990, in Monrovia, Liberia.

Q: Did you grow up in Monrovia?

SIEH: I grew up a little bit in Monrovia, and some of it also was in another country, Ghana.

Q: Oh, in Ghana. Is one of your parents from Ghana?

SIEH: No, they are all from Liberia. But during wartime, and also doing visitation, I went there.

Q: I understand, I understand. What kinds of things interested you when you were growing up, up through high school? What kinds of things did you like to do?

SIEH: I love impacting life. That's what interests me, impacting life--to be able to transform life and make things easier for people, have a better system 00:02:00where everyone is safe, secure, everyone can have everything that it takes to realize what God has placed in them, their own potential. I've been loving impacting life through teaching, through volunteering my service to save life through other things.

Q: What were you doing immediately before Ebola?

SIEH: Before Ebola, I was a volunteer with the National Youth Service Programme under the Ministry of Youth and Sports back then. I was training youth in IT [information technology]. That is, computers--training youth in IT, in programming stuff and things such as sporting, all the things. I was training youth in leadership skills, in business areas also, etcetera.

Q: How did you become involved in the Ebola response?

SIEH: I became involved in the Ebola response when I was a volunteer on a Youth 00:03:00and Sports program, and also when I was a national volunteer. I was carrying on Ebola psychosocial counseling, and then helping other entities there in the Ebola response area. That is, how to be able to respond to the Ebola [crisis]; and then those who are affected, I also had to counsel them in those areas. I also like supervising or coordinating some gCHVs [general community health volunteers] in the field, as related to spreading Ebola preventive maintenance or Ebola preventive care assistance so that it doesn't spread out into the community, and at large, the country.

Q: When you look back at your role in fighting Ebola, what are some of the memories that stand with you the most?

SIEH: What stands with me most is during Ebola, getting involved in saving life 00:04:00in whatever ways, such as counseling people who were affected by Ebola back then, before coming to Riders [for Health], and also helping the young people who were involved in spreading the message so that Ebola would not be able to spread out. I really enjoyed that because as I got more involved, it helped to reduce the spread of Ebola as a result. As I moved on to Riders, we helped in coordinating the sample transport movement from one location to another. I brought a serious decrease in the risk of Ebola transmission or spread at that time, bringing us to where we are currently now, until the day that we got the perfect news that Ebola is totally out. That is, we were moving samples from one 00:05:00place to another, so by the time we identify a little suspected case somewhere, as we get the sample from there, that particular area, the county health team and other people get involved so as to control that area from people not moving out or spreading the disease. I remember that, and I really loved doing it because through our help, as Riders for Health, we were able to identify the disease, the area that it was, and be able to sift people from that particular area so that it cannot spread out. We were working within time, too. I remember even from the beginning it seemed to be tough, but at least we were working within a twenty-four hour--that sample will be able to leave from far-out areas and reach LIBR [Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research]. That is a memory that I remember, at least.

Q: Do you remember a time, like one specific time, where you had to make a decision about something?

SIEH: Yes. During the Ebola crisis, I remember a time that I had to make a 00:06:00decision. There were a series of times I had to make tough, tough decisions, like an instance where we had a sample taken from a highly suspected area back then. We had to collect a sample from there, even though we had other suspected areas, and we didn't have more couriers for the number of health districts or facilities. How to make a decision based on priority, an area that is highly affected, or areas where we have high news, as compared to areas where the news is there but it's not high. I have to balance my couriers in a way that they move to the higher area and get whatsoever they have to get there, risking their lives to be able to move the sample for testing so as to control that area instead of moving [on this other end].

Another instance where the lab [laboratory, LIBR] was not working up to [a certain time], the reference lab, and I had to make a decision that my [couriers 00:07:00and I] had to take another route passing through Margibi [County] to carry a sample to another, new area where it was to be taken, Tappita or Phebe [Hospital lab] area. I had to make that decision because [we] were going the extra miles.

Q: Was there a person who you worked with closely during the response who you could describe for me?

SIEH: Pardon?

Q: Who is someone who you worked with very closely during the response?

SIEH: During the response, I worked closely with my boss man, that is Marcus Kolleh, operations manager, so as to make sure we got every necessary support that [we] the couriers needed to be able to move the samples everywhere at any time that we were called upon. I also worked along with the couriers' focus persons that were assigned to various counties, so as to make sure--because I 00:08:00could not be in all of the counties at the same time. So I had to relate with them whatever challenge they had. They had to send it to me. Also, I had to pass on all the information to them so that they could reach it also to the couriers that are [under] them in other districts. There, I was working closely, and was also working closely with WHO [World Health Organization]. That is, Dr. Mecca was also in [Grand Bassa County here], so as to make sure everything was moving smoothly. Even the county health team that included the diagnostic officer also, and some Global Communities health staff who were in the swab collection stuff. We were working with all of those partners to make sure we achieved one goal.

Q: Do you remember one instance in particular with Marcus that stands out to you?

SIEH: Yeah. What I remember, an instance with Marcus that stands out, he worked closely, he gave full support to us. One of the instances where we were carrying 00:09:00a sample. That sample needed to go to the lab. It was an emergency sample that came from way down the line, and then a courier from Grand Bassa brought them. As we were going, we had a breakdown. He had a breakdown while going to the reference lab. He had a total breakdown. It was not easy to get him out, and also the sample, to get the sample going. I was trying to come and rescue too by that time. As I reached there, I got the sample, but trying to return, I had a breakdown over there too with the bike. So two bikes broke down at that time, and then the night approached. It was getting late. I had to call my boss, and he found everything necessary for us to be taken from that strange area because we knew no one there to sleep with. We were worrying, where will we sleep? We didn't have money with us. Which hotel should we go to? Where will we go, how will we save the bike? But he intervened and everything was under control. That is, he gave the necessary support for the work.

Q: Is there anything else that you'd like to share with me, a memory or a 00:10:00reflection, before we conclude the interview?

SIEH: Yeah. What I want to share with you, I just want to appreciate the partners and Riders for Health also for stepping in. That is, helping to strengthen the sample transportation over the surveillance area, and then all of the partners like CDC and things like that who have contributed. I wish that the system would continue forever. What do I mean by this? Because I've come to a realization, and that's one of the things that keeps driving me to work. Save life, save life. If they would continue such a good system, we would be able to transport every sample from anywhere to the necessary lab, and quickly, they will be able to discover if there is a new disease and immediately discover that new disease. The health area or the health sector will quickly be able to run to that particular community or area to be able to get that disease under control 00:11:00so that it cannot spread in the way Ebola spread rapidly when we did not have the idea of [fighting against it].

Q: Thank you very, very much, Anthony. This has been a real pleasure listening to you. Thank you.

SIEH: Thank you too.

END