Community

UNICEF CONNECT blogs.unicef.org                                                         April 15, 2015

by Margaret James, a Health Officer with UNICEF, Sierre Leone

When I first heard in February that Lugbu chiefdom was one of the few in Bo District, Sierra Leone, that had not recorded a single case of Ebola, my interest was immediately triggered. On 2 March 2015 we got to visit the chiefdom’s main town, Sumbuya, for several hours of meetings with local leaders, youth, a traditional healer and business people to find out more.

Lugbu chiefdom has several entry points and can be accessed by both land and water. (c)UNICEF Sierra Leone

In our quest for answers, we got permission from the local Paramount Chief, (PC) Mohamed Allie Nallo, who gave his blessing and got in touch with key people to help us in our research. We held group meetings, one-on-one interviews and even carried out spot visits.

PLOS   by Saron Alane Abramowitz, Kristen E. McLean and others,                                          April 9, 2015

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.

This study provides baseline information on community-based epidemic control priorities and identifies innovative local strategies for containing EVD in Liberia.
Read complete study.

http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0003706

THE ASSESSMENT CAPACITIES PROJECT (ACAPS)                     March  19, 2015

Ebola Outbreak in West Africa: Lessons Learned from Quarantine--Sierra Leone and Liberia (acaps) The use of quarantine in West Africa is debated by various stakeholders. Some INGOs have argued that quarantine can fuel panic and counterproductive behaviour. Others have defended quarantine as a vital complementary tool to prevent the spread of infection and facilitate contact tracing....

 See full study.

http://acaps.org/img/documents/t-acaps_thematic_note_ebola_west_africa_quarantine_sierra_leone_liberia_19_march_2015.pdf

NEW YORK TIMES  by NORIMITSU ONISHI and SHERI FINK        March 14, 2015

MONROVIA, Liberia — West Africa’s Ebola epidemic may be waning, but another outbreak in the future is a near certainty, health officials say.