Concern Worldwide

In this paper, we argue for including a full hygiene promotion intervention as an early part of emergency response. In an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Bentiu, Republic of South Sudan, it has proven to be a strong complement to the construction of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities and WASH non-food item (NFI) distribution. Comparison between two camps with and without hygiene promotion intervention was made possible by the difficulty in recruiting hygiene promoters in one of the two camps.

Good hygiene practices are crucial for avoiding Ebola contamination during the transport and burial of deceased persons potentially infected by Ebola. In Freetown, Sierra Leone, Concern Worldwide worked with CDC (Centers for Disease Control) experts to define a quality assessment check list for the day-to-day follow-up of burial team workers.