Africare Ebola Response Africare’s response to the West Africa Ebola outbreak is three-pronged: 1. Emergency Response 2. Behavior Change Communication 3. Health Systems Strengthening 1. Emergency Response With in-kind shipping donations from UPS and DHL, Africare is shipping Personal Protective Equipment and other necessary medical supplies to protect health care workers. These two shipments of Personal Protective Equipment and necessary medical supplies will be sent by sea freight, totaling $1.25 million in medical supplies, arriving in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone respectively on October 9. On Saturday, September 20, Direct Relief, Africare’s medical supplies partner, will be sending approximately 50 pallets of medical supplies to Africare, valued at $125,000, via airfreight, to arrive in Liberia on Sunday, September 21st. Africare is distributing these supplies to health care facilities via the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and is partnering with other local organizations operating in the affected areas, such as Nehnwaa in Nimba County Liberia, to provide supplies in Liberia as well as Guinea and Sierra Leone. National Level Emergency Response: • As a member of the National Technical Working Group, Africare provides technical support to technical arm of the Ebola Task Force headed by President Johnson Sirleaf; • Member of the subcommittee on Contact Tracing responsible to develop protocols, standards and SOW for coordinators, supervisors, and tracers at county, district and community levels respectively. County Level Emergency Response: • Serves as chair of county-level Epi-surveillance & contact tracing committee; • Provide all logistics (vehicle, fuel, forms, etc) required for the committee functions; • Provided training for county coordinator, district supervisors, and community contact tracers on overview of EVD, and contact tracing methodology; • Contribute to the maintenance of two hot lines (two cell phones and monthly recharge cards) at the county level. District Level Emergency Response: • Procure large quantities of PPEs; including rubber aprons, rain boots, liquid soap, nose masks, disposable latex gloves, heavy-duty rubber gloves, eye goggles, and disposal head caps • Distribute supplies such as Clorox, chlohexidene solution, plastic buckets with faucet, knapsacks for disinfecting to each health facility in Bong and Nimba Counties • Provide technical support from Africare staff embedded at the district level • Serve as Co-Lead on Contact Tracing at the district level Community Level Emergency Response: • Trained 200 healthcare workers in Nimba and Bong County on safe Ebola healthcare practices, including community health volunteers • Provide financial and other forms of incentives for Burial & Disposal team • Supports environmental health technicians (EHTs) to ensure proper and safe burial practices • Support the provision of messages on health promotion and IEC/BCC on EVD by facility staff and Community Health Workers • Provide incentives for ten Lab Techs in Bong and Nimba Counties to serve as phlebotomist for blood specimen collection in the communities. • Will soon be receiving corporate funds from companies in Liberia to: o Outfit trucks with sound equipment to send messages to communities o Trace possible community members who have come in contact with Ebola 2. Behavior Change Communication Africare recognizes that communities cannot overcome Ebola and prevent future outbreaks without education on the causes of the disease and how to prevent transmission among the public. Experience tells us that the initial response we are currently engaged in establishing, while critical, is not nearly as important in terms of preventing future outbreaks of Ebola as the secondary prong of the approach will be -- a comprehensive behavior change campaign. A behavior change campaign aimed at addressing Ebola will contain standard behavior change elements including addressing public misconceptions about the disease, its treatment, how it is contracted, and the fact that there is currently no known vaccine or cure. All of these issues add to the complexity of the crisis, are currently hampering global efforts to contain it, and necessitate the design and implementation of such a campaign in the immediate future. The behavior change needs to be integrated into the health care system and stretch from the most prominent national representatives to the most local of community members. Africare has developed proposals for Behavior Change Communication campaigns, targeting key groups in the local population with relevant Ebola messaging. These target groups include government ministries, local health care workers, local civil-society organizations, traditional community and religious leaders, and local communities themselves. 3. Health Systems Strengthening Africare has several pre-existing health projects, supporting local institutions in providing complete packages of essential health services. The expansion and deepening of these programs can bolster the capacity of local health systems to better respond to and ultimately prevent future outbreaks. How Resources Will Help • Support our 100% Liberian staff take care of themselves and their families while they assist their community members with the multifaceted effects of Ebola. • Reach 1000 more community health workers/volunteers trained across 6 counties: Bong, Nimba, Bassa, River Gee, Maryland and Grand Kru • Psycho-social support for victims and families in both their homes and at clinics. • Complement efforts of other local NGOs in the purchase of food for Ebola victims in clinics as well as their family members at home, estimated at over 1000 people per month • Incentives in the form of cash, food, bikes, and rain gear for the community health workers to do behavior change communication around Ebola. • Invest in ongoing Health Systems Strengthening work Africare is doing with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to increase their capacity to handle both Ebola patients and malaria patients. • Local economies are collapsing, businesses are shut, Africare is looking to supplement income through cash distributions to families who have lost loved ones Articles Africare has written Seven Ways Liberian’s are Combating Ebola: bit.ly/Yu1o1F Behavior Change is Key to the Eradication of Ebola: huff.to/1u0RbFp How Ebola is Affecting Life in Liberia: bit.ly/1lwBOTG Africare Ebola page: bit.ly/1ABnFrU Africare Ebola PSA: bit.ly/1s5NGKH
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 17:09:13 +0000
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