Ebola

Background. The West African Ebola epidemic has demonstrated that the existing range of medical and epidemiological responses to emerging disease outbreaks is insufficient, especially in post-conflict contexts with exceedingly poor healthcare infrastructures. In this context, community-based responses have proven vital for containing Ebola virus disease (EVD) and shifting the epidemic curve. Despite a surge in interest in local innovations that effectively contained the epidemic, the mechanisms for community-based response remain unclear.

Purpose. The 2014 outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa was the largest in history. Starting in September 2014, International Medical Corps (IMC) operated five Ebola treatment units (ETUs) in Sierra Leone and Liberia. This paper explores how future infectious disease outbreak facilities in resource-limited settings can be planned, organized, and managed by analyzing data collected on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and infection prevention control (IPC) protocols. Design/Methodology/Approach.

Within Oxfam, we continue to question how we could have better integrated gender equality in the Ebola response, and how to improve our gender mainstreaming in future emergencies. Why did gender mainstreaming in the Ebola response prove particularly challenging? How did the Ebola response differ from previous emergencies? What did we need to know to improve our response to the outbreak? Are there new ways in which we should approach gender mainstreaming? What lessons have we learned that we can carry forward in our work?

Engaging communities in humanitarian programming is key to ensuring their participation in decision-making that affects them as outlined by commitment 4 of the Core Humanitarian Standards.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions are key to reducing the burden of disease associated with outbreaks, and are commonly implemented in emergency response. However, there is a lack of summarized evidence on the efficacy and effectiveness of these interventions. We conducted a systematic review of published and grey literature by developing theory of change models, developing inclusion criteria, conducting the search, selecting evaluations for inclusion, assessing the quality of the evidence, and analysing the included evaluations.

The  Ebola  virus  disease  (EVD)  epidemic  entered  Liberia  through  Lofa  County  in  February  2014  and  spread  to  two  health  districts  where  the nongovernmental  organization  Global  Communities  had  been  implementing  community-led  total  sanitation  (CLTS)  since  2012.  By  December 2014  the  county  had  928  Ebola  cases  (422  of  them  confirmed)  and  648  deaths.  Before  the  epidemic,  CLTS  was  triggered  in  155  communities,  and 98  communities  were  certified  as  Open  Defecation  Free  (ODF).  Using  mixed  quantitati

After the Ebola outbreak was declared in Sierra Leone, in June 2014, early messages about the high mortality rate of Ebola were met with fear and denial by many communities (BBC,  14/06/2015).

The Improved Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (IWASH) program  implemented Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in counties of Liberia to analyze the relationship between Open Defectation Free (ODF) status with the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). The purpose of the study was to validate informal claims that IWASH communities with ODF status experienced no cases of EVD and to identify which community-based EVD activities were most effective.

Effective menstrual management is essential for the mental and physical well-being of women. However, many women in low-income countries lack access to the materials and facilities required. They are thus restricted in their activities whilst menstruating thus compromising their education, income and domestic responsibilities. The paper aims to discuss these issues. This study describes the menstrual management challenges faced by women in an emergency situation in Uganda.

In 2014, ACF initiated an innovative approach for social mobilization activites that mobilizes the communities for impoving control of the risks of transmission of Ebola at the community level. The CLEME program was aimed at triggering the behavioral change needed by the communities to strengthen community resilience to the outbreak and prevent further resurgence by ensuring real and sustainable improvements. The CLEME approach implemented by ACF in the districts of Kambia and Moyamba revealed its efficiency in limiting and controlling the spread of the disease at the community level.