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Sierra Leone: Ebola Outbreak Update – December 10, 2015

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Source: Government of Sierra Leone
Country: Sierra Leone

NEW CASES

  • New Confirmed cases = 0 as follows:

Kailahun = 0, Kenema = 0, Kono = 0

Bombali = 0, Kambia = 0, Koinadugu = 0, Port Loko =0, Tonkolili = 0

Bo = 0, Bonthe = 0, Moyamba = 0 Pujehun = 0

Western Area Urban = 0, Western Area Rural = 0, Missing = 0

  • DISCHARGED CASES = 4,051
  • CUMULATIVE CASES = 8,704
  • CUMULATIVE DEATHS =3,589

Sierra Leone: Caring for malnourished children in Ebola-affected Sierra Leone

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Source: UN Children's Fund
Country: Sierra Leone

By Harriet Mason

With the devastating Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone now over, a longstanding health crisis comes back into focus: malnutrition. Through a community-based approach, UNICEF and its partners are supporting the effort to reach every village with treatment and prevention of acute malnutrition.

KONO DISTRICT, Sierra Leone, 11 December 2015 – “I had reached a point where I thought my child was going to die,” says Francess, the mother of 1-year-old Naomi Sam. Francess thinks that she could have lost Naomi if a community health worker had not recognized the young child was suffering from malnutrition.

The Ebola outbreak that just ended in Sierra Leone infected at least 8,704 people and killed at least 3,589. What will take longer to measure and to understand, however, will be its wider impact on the nation’s health.

Before Ebola, nutrition was already a challenge, with 12.9 per cent of under-5 children malnourished, according to the 2014 Sierra Leone National Nutrition Survey report. Quarantine and travel restrictions, infections, fear and an economic downturn are likely to have had a significant impact on nutrition.

In Kombayendeh village in Kono District, eastern Sierra Leone, most parents did not know the basics about malnutrition and its causes, and the sight of malnourished children in the community was a common occurrence.

Early this year, amid the ongoing Ebola outbreak, the NGO Sierra Leone Poverty Alleviation Agency (SILPA), with support from Irish Aid and the Japanese government, started community-based active case findings using self-screening tools, as part of UNICEF’s Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition programme. The effort aimed to reach malnourished children in every chiefdom of the district, despite the logistical challenges posed by poor road conditions.

Urgent attention

One-year-old Naomi is one of the children benefiting from community management of acute malnutrition in Kombayendeh village. When she was seen by SILPA’s field-based monitor, Charles Bockarie, about 10 months ago, she was acutely malnourished and in a very sick state. She was immediately brought to the Koidu Government Hospital for treatment, along with her mother Francess.

“Naomi was visibly sick and needed urgent attention, so I brought her to the hospital the very day she was identified,” says Mr. Bockarie.

At the hospital Naomi was found to have other health complications in need of close monitoring. She was admitted for two months, during which she was treated for malnutrition and the complications related to it.

“I am very grateful that Charles came here and saw her, and referred us for treatment,” Francess says. “He helped save her life.”

Naomi was treated with Plumpy’Nut, a peanut-based ready-to-use therapeutic food, and to the surprise of her mother and other family members, Naomi became healthy again.

“I used to wonder what magic was in the treatment that made her recover so soon,” Francess says. “I was so surprised about the improvement in her look, just a few weeks after she started eating those packets.”

Spreading the word

Francess has also been trained to use locally available food to feed her child and has become a ‘nutrition ambassador’, sensitizing other mothers to feed their children well, and also persuading those with malnourished children to go for treatment.

“I learned the importance of exclusively breastfeeding our babies until they are six months old and then giving complementary food with continued breast milk, so they can be healthy and not fall sick as Naomi,” she says. “I am advising my friends in our village to do the same.’’

“I have a backyard garden where I grow fresh food items. I will continue feeding Naomi well to ensure she doesn’t get sick again, but rather grows up healthy and strong and able to take care of me when I get old.”

Though nutrition remains critical issue in Sierra Leone, major gains have been made in making people aware of malnutrition and the benefits of proper nutrition. The ready-to-use therapeutic food now known across Sierra Leone has helped save the lives of thousands of malnourished children – since the start of 2015, nearly 4,000 children across Kono District alone have received treatment for malnutrition and recovered.

Sierra Leone: Ebola Outbreak Update – December 11, 2015

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Source: Government of Sierra Leone
Country: Sierra Leone

  • NEW CASES

  • New Confirmed cases = 0 as follows:

Kailahun = 0, Kenema = 0, Kono = 0 Bombali = 0, Kambia = 0, Koinadugu = 0, Port Loko =0, Tonkolili = 0 Bo = 0, Bonthe = 0, Moyamba = 0 Pujehun = 0 Western Area Urban = 0, Western Area Rural = 0, Missing = 0

  • DISCHARGED CASES = 4,051

  • CUMULATIVE CASES = 8,704

  • CUMULATIVE DEATHS =3,589

  • Suspected cases = 5,310

Sierra Leone: UNICEF Sierra Leone Ebola Situation Report, 9 December 2015

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Source: UN Children's Fund
Country: Sierra Leone

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Following an observed drop in the number of sick and death alerts to the 117 helpline number since the end of the outbreak on 7 November 2015, the Social Mobilization Pillar, in partnership with the Communication Pillar, has intensified messaging across communities. A revised guide highlighting the continued need to report cases based on new case definition, mandatory swabbing for all deaths and the revised safe and dignified burial standard operating procedure has been prepared and widely disseminated. District Social Mobilization Pillar partners have re-oriented their social mobilizers on the revised messaging. Other frontline workers have also been briefed on the new guidelines and messages by their respective Pillars.

  • UNICEF and its partner agencies and organizations are continuing the preparations for the establishment of a Rapid Response Team that will be able to quickly address any potential resurgence of Ebola in the country.

  • UNICEF and its partner agencies and organizations are continuing the preparations for the establishment of a Rapid Response Team that will be able to quickly address any potential resurgence of Ebola in the country.

  • In Kambia, the verification and vulnerability assessment of Ebola affected children who lost one or both parents is ongoing. 13 children were verified and assessed during the reporting period. This is part of a country-wide exercise aimed at assessing their needs and facilitating their access to services.

  • Also in Kambia, 217 Village Development Committees (VDC) have been trained on the formation of VDCs, their roles and responsibilities. Out of these, 157 VDCs have begun developing action plans.

  • The Government of Sierra Leone, through The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) and with support from UNICEF and partners, has launched the Week of Education, which will be held from 6 to 12 December 2015. As part of post-Ebola recovery and the return to normalcy, the objective of this event is to remind the nation on the critical importance of education and the need to provide quality services, including ensuring proper Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) at school facilities.

  • UNICEF is supporting implementing partners FHM, RODA and CEDA with the decommissioning of Community Care Centers (CCCs). The process is already underway for four CCCs in Tonkolili district and two CCCs in Kono district.

SITUATION IN NUMBERS

As of 9 December 2015

8,704 Confirmed cases of Ebola

3,589 Confirmed deaths from Ebola

1,459 Confirmed cases of infected children under age 18 registered by MSWGCA

8,624 Registered children who lost one or both parents due to Ebola

UNICEF funding needs to December 2015: USD 160 million

UNICEF funding gap: USD 34.9 million3 (22%)

Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone: Bo District Profile (04 December 2015)

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Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: Sierra Leone

Context: Bo district is in the Southern Province, and borders with Kenema district to the east, Tonkolili district to the north, Moyamba district to the west, Bonthe district to the southwest and Pujehun district to the south. It is the second most populous district in Sierra Leone (after the Western Area Urban district). Bo town is the second largest city in the country and the district capital. Other major towns in the district are Baoma, Bumpeh, Serabu, Sumbuya, Baiima and Yele. The fifteen chiefdoms of the district are Badjia, Bagbwe, Baoma, Bumpe Ngao, Jaiama, Kakua, Komboya, Lugbu, Niawa, Bo, Selenga, Tikonko, Valunia, Wonde and Gbo. The district population is ethnically and culturally diverse, particularly in the city of Bo, however, over 60% of the population belongs to the Mende ethnic group. During the May-October rainy season, the district receives an average of 292 cm rainfall annually

Population distribution: The district population projection 2014 (see table) indicates that 6% are children under the age of 5 years, 54% are among the active workforce (15-64 years) while 25% falls between the age of 5 and 14 years. Among the active workforce, 43% of people reside in Bo town. 45% of the district population live in urban areas (55% are rural population). According to the projected population data, the average family size is 5.7.

Livelihood and Economy: The major economic activities of the district population are gold and diamond mining, other activities include trading, agricultural production of rice and root crops, cash crops such coffee, cacao and oil palm plantation. Trading is also a livelihood means for many residents as the district serves the important trade route and business hub for the south west of the country. Traditional farming is a common livelihood and family income source for the majority of the population in the country, however, less than half (49%) of Bo residents are engaged in farming activities. The Wealth Index (WI)8 shows only 9% of residents fall under the poorest quintile and 22% are in the medium poor category. Outside the capital Freetown, poverty was relatively consistent across the country, however Bo district with a 50.7% poverty level remained one of the lowest levels in the country. Despite a low level of poverty, the income inequality (Gini coefficient)** stands at 0.33 (on a scale 0 to 1) which is moderately high compared to the national range between the highest level 0.42 in Bombali and the lowest level 0.21 in Tonkolili.

Education: The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST)9 conducted a school census for the 2012-13 school year and recorded 703 schools in the district, of which 64 were pre-primary, 520 primary, 94 junior secondary and 7 are senior secondary schools. In addition, there are 21 Technical Vocational Institutes and a Home Economics Centre. According to the same MEST census, most (83%)9 of these schools are owned by mission, private and community while the other 17% are government owned schools. There is a sharp decline (see graph) in school attendance between primary and junior levels, and the same trend has been observed between junior and senior secondary schools. The net primary enrolment varies widely among the districts; Bo has the second highest enrolment (78%) after the Western Area (83%). The district has one of the highest literacy rates in the country3 . 108 (15%) mostly primary schools9 have a school feeding programme supported by NGOs. The Njala University is the second largest university in Sierra Leone located in Bo city. Bo Government Secondary School (commonly known as Bo School) is one of the biggest and most prominent secondary schools in West Africa.

Food Security: According to the Emergency Food Security Assessment in Sierra Leone 2015, over 57% of the district population are severe (10%) to moderately (47%) food insecure5 . The farmers also experienced important drops in rice production in 2014 compared to the previous year production level.
The prevalence of chronic malnutrition among children 6-59 months is 38.5 (Stunting) for the same age group the rate is 22.9% measured by being underweight7 . Though malnutrition rates are relatively moderate compared to other districts, however, the rate remains high for the region. Food purchase accounts for 62% of household expenditure8 of the district residents, which undermine the capacity to allocate other essential expenditures such as health, education and family welfare.

Health: The district has 117 health facilities12 including one Government and two Mission hospitals, 27 Community Health Centers (CHC), 21 Community Health Posts, 62 Maternal and Child Health Posts (MCHP) and 4 private clinics. According to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS)12 data 2013, on average a health facility serves 5,462 persons and has one bed for 2,061 people. The vaccination coverage5 is 82% among the children aged between 12-23 months old, 1.5% children of the same age group have never been vaccinated. The overall HIV prevalence rate5 is 1.4%, while the prevalence rate among women (1.8%) is higher compared to men (1%).

Water and Sanitation: (WASH): The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MoEWR) comprehensive mapping of water points report 2012 indicated that the major drinking water sources13 for the district residents are wells, hand pumps, public water supplies (piped) and other sources (streams and untreated sources). There are some 3, 656 functional water points of different sources, majority (2,412) of which are wells without a pump. During the time of the mapping exercise in 2012, 22% (797) water points were found not functioning, 275 of these sources need repairing. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST)9 census for the 2012-13 school year indicated that 344 (47%) schools has safe drinking water sources (piped supplies and boreholes) inside the school compound while other schools are using wells, streams and other untreated sources. 69% (499) of schools have access to toilet facilities within the school premises.

Ebola Emergency and its impact: The last confirmed case14 of EVD was reported on 13 January 2015, since then the district has remained transmission free. After 133 days of no new cases, as of 26 May 2015, the government hospital holding and isolation centres were closed14 . On 7 November 2015, the day Sierra Leone declared end of EVD transmission, the district has reached 237 days without any reported EVD case. Bo district serves as a business route for the south-west part of the country, but during the EVD outbreak when movement was restricted and the closure of borders with the neighbouring countries negatively impacted the business communities and people reliant on this business.

Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone: Kailahun District Profile (3 December 2015)

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Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: Sierra Leone

Context: Kailahun is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Kailahun town. Other major towns in the district include Segbwema, Koindu, Pendembu and Daru. Kailahun district is subdivided into fourteen chiefdoms. The border of the district with Guinea is formed by a section of the Moa River. The population in the district is predominantly Muslim. Kailahun has a mixed economy with small-scale mining and agricultural production of coffee, cacao and rice. Rainfall in this area is 2,001 to 3,000 mm per year 10 and vegetation is a mix of savanna, forest and secondary growth. After years of civil war (1991-2002), with a slow recovery, this district still remains as one of the poorest in the country.

Education: In Sierra Leone, it is legally required for all children from six years old to attend primary school and three years of junior secondary school. A shortage of schools and teachers has made implementation impossible, although the number of children in primary education has greatly increased since the end of the civil war in 2002. Currently, Kailahun has 410 schools (19 pre-primary, 346 primaries, 35 junior secondary schools and 10 senior secondary schools)15 . The outbreak of Ebola led to the closure of schools for a prolonged period from July 2014 to April 2015. 16 A 2010/11 School Census by the Ministry of Education reported that 55% of the schools at the time were in need of repairs. Twenty-five percent of schools typically collect water from a stream, while 38 percent of schools have non-functional toilets. Sierra Leone has a low level of literacy among adults with only 42.0% of adults literate reported as in 2010.

Food Security: In June 2015, an emergency food security assessment identified Kailahun as a district with one of the highest prevalence rates of both moderate and severe food insecurity in the country (59% and 16% respectively). They reported a surge since 2011, when only 13 percent of the households were food insecure. In 2014-2015, the prevalence of poor food consumption is related to the Ebola epidemic. Kailahun is close to the border with Liberia and Guinea, and to the epicenter of the EVD outbreak (Gueckedou-Guinea). The area has both cash and food crop farming. The Ebola outbreak coincided with the planting season and it expanded during the crop maintenance period and critical harvesting period for staple crops (rice, maize and cassava). In the communities directly affected by the Ebola outbreak, livelihoods were impacted as a result, with irregular incomes, lower food consumption. Farmers reported decreased rice production due to a reduced farming workforce, caused by containment measures.

Health: Health services are provided by government, private and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS) is responsible for health care. Following the civil in war in 2002, the Ministry changed to a decentralised structure to increase coverage. 19 In Kailahun, the medical facilities are 12 community health centers (CHC), 31 community health posts (CHP), 11 maternal child health posts (MCHP) and 1 government hospital and 1 government clinic. Traditional medicine forms part of the primary health care system in Sierra Leone. Endemic diseases are Yellow Fever and Malaria in Sierra Leone.

Ebola Emergency: Kailahun was the second district in Sierra Leone to reach the milestone of 42 consecutive days without registering an Ebola case, at the end of the 2014, in 12 December. The district was heavily affected by the Ebola outbreak, with the highest concentration initially in Kailahun and Kenema districts. The total cumulative number of confirmed cases was 565.

Water and Sanitation: Despite efforts, access has not improved since the end of the Sierra Leone Civil War in 2002. The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MoEWR) and its partners conducted a comprehensive mapping exercise in the first half of 2012. They found 2,299 water points in Kailahun. Of these, 772 were partially damaged or broken, and 113 were under construction (38% non-functional). The population per water point is 301. Points require repairs and many new points are needed in areas to support adequate safe water supply for the community.

Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone: Western Urban District Profile (12 October 2015)

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Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: Sierra Leone

Context: Western Urban includes the oldest city and national capital Freetown and its surrounding, towns, villages and landscape. It is Sierra Leone’s major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and political center. The city's economy revolves largely around its final natural harbour, which is the largest natural harbour on the continent of Africa. The Freetown peninsula consists of three roughly parallel ranges of highlands that are narrow but extend about 30 km south of Freetown. The hills and mountains in the highlands rise impressively from 200 m to 1 000 m above the low-lying narrow coastal area. As the rest of the country has a tropical climate with two pronounced seasons: wet season from May to October, and a dry season from November to April. Rainfall is this area is 3 001-4 000 mm per year

Education: Education in Sierra Leone is legally required for all children for six years at primary school level and three years in junior secondary school. A shortage of schools and teachers has made implementation impossible, although the number of children in primary education has greatly increased since the end of the civil war. Recently, the outbreak of Ebola led to the closure of schools for a prolonged time period from July 14 to April 2015. In Western Urban after the Ebola outbreak 1,120 schools were operational Sierra Leone has a low level of literacy among adults with only 37.1% of adults literate in 2006.

Food Security: As a result of poor yields, even in rural areas, three quarters of the population rely on markets for access to food. Poverty and the exposure to international food price volatility are the underlying causes of vulnerability in Sierra Leone. The EVD outbreak has further eroded the livelihoods of both affected and non-affected communities. The total number of people food insecure in Western Urban Area is 203,659 and the percentage of household food insecure (severe and moderate) is 23.0%. While in the Western Slum Area the total population food insecure is 24,142 and the percentage of household food insecure (severe and moderate)is 40.3%. Freetown peri-urban which corresponds to the whole of the Western Area has the lowest proportion of food insecurity in the country. Although most food is imported via Freetown and as a consequence, the Western Area is the most import-dependent in the country, this makes it the most exposed to global market shocks and hikes in food grain prices, particularly rice. The population is involved in agriculture and urban activities such as petty trade and non-agricultural labour. The small amount of suitable agricultural land available has high value as urban demand for fruit and vegetables is high.

Health: District Health Management Team (DHMT) has registered a total of 538 staff medical and non-medical staff working in health facilities in Western Urban Area. In addition, the facilities available in Western Rural Area are 20 Community Health Center (CHC), 20 Community Health Post (CHP), 13 Maternal Child Health Post (MCHP) and 9 hospitals. Traditional medicine forms part of the primary health care system in Sierra Leone.

Ebola Emergency: As of 10 October 2015, Western Area Urban remains free of any Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) case for 64 days (countdown started from 12 August after death of the last case in the Ebola Treatment Unit on 11 August). However, in the western part of the country, Ebola transmission was intense and is currently considered the “hotspot” of the West African outbreak. The cumulative confirmed cases as of 12 October 2015 are 2,285 for the district.

Water and Sanitation: Water is rationed in many areas in Freetown with almost no customers receiving a 24-hour supply and as a consequence there is limited access to safe drinking water. The rapid urbanisation that occurred mostly during the 11 year conflict made 70% of Freetown an unplanned urban slum. Linked to this is the fact that 40% of water produced by the Guma Valley Water Company utility does not generate an income, either through wastage (leakages) or illegal access through pipe breakages. Urban access to improved sanitation facilities was at 23% in 2010 (up from 22% in 1990)

Sierra Leone: Livelihood support rejuvenates the activities of farmers affected by the Ebola outbreak

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Source: Food and Agriculture Organization
Country: Sierra Leone

14/12/2015

The declaration of the end of the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone brought relief to the government and citizens, after a 72 week-long outbreak that has caused over 3 500 deaths and disrupted economic and livelihood activities.

In order to help cushion the adverse effect of the outbreak on the farming communities in the country, the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund (ASTF) provided timely financing to FAO. Mr. David Mwesigwa, FAO’s Head of Programme Implementation, explains that thanks to these funds, an assessment of randomly sampled Agribusiness Centres (ABCs) was conducted across the country in July 2015 to ascertain the impact of the outbreak on their farming activities, and identify areas and beneficiaries for immediate support.

The Sorbeh Agribusiness Centre, situated in Kabala Town, Koinadugu District, in the North of Sierra Leone, is one of the 16 ABCs selected for support based on actual needs. The ABC is made up of eleven farmer organisations with at least twenty-five members in each group, who are mostly women farmers engaged in vegetable and rice farming. Every year, they supply 10 000 kg of rice to the World Food Programme (WFP) for its school feeding project.

The members suffered huge loss during the outbreak, as their vegetables got perished because of movement restriction. Most of them also couldn’t meet their loan commitments due to market disruption and the related loss of income. Faced with this critical situation, the ABC benefitted from 120 million Leones to buy seeds and reactivate their village savings and loans scheme.

The Chairlady of the Centre, Ms Aminata Bangura, recently visited the FAO Office in Freetown to express gratitude for what she described as a timely assistance: “We were never hopeful of resuming farming activities in 2015. We ate all the seeds we had in our stocks and the revolving funds during the height of the Ebola outbreak, as we were neither working nor engaged in business because of the public emergency regulations” she lamented.

Ms Bangura explained that the support enabled them to buy vegetable seeds of different varieties, fertilizer, insecticides and sprayers. The farmers also received support to continue participating in the village savings and loan association based on the business plans they submitted through their executive committees. “With this assistance, we are very hopeful of a bumper harvest from which we can be able to supply rice to WFP as we used to” she stated.

This is one example of how farmers hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak are being supported by FAO and other partners in Sierra Leone, as part of the recovery interventions in the agriculture sector.


Mali: Humanitarian Implementation Plan (HIP) West Africa (ECHO/-WF/BUD/2015/91000) Last update: 1/12/2015 Version 7

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Source: European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office
Country: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo

0. MAJOR CHANGES SINCE PREVIOUS VERSION OF THE HIP

Sixth modification as of 1/12/2015
In order to be able to contract the entire budget of the West Africa HIP, an amount of EUR 33 926 needs to be shifted from the Man-made disaster specific objective to the Natural disaster specific objective of financing Decision ECHO/WWD/BUD/2015/01000. The total amount of the West Africa HIP remains unchanged

Mali: Plan de Mise en Oeuvre Humanitaire (HIP) Afrique de l'Ouest (ECHO/-WF/BUD/2015/91000) Dernière mise à jour: 28/09/2015, Version 4

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Source: European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office
Country: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo

0. CHANGEMENTS DEPUIS LA VERSION PRECEDENTE DU HIP

Troisième modification du 28/09/2015
Malgré la signature de l'accord de paix du 20 Juin, la situation dans le nord du Mali reste très fragile, comme en témoignent les récents affrontements dans la région de Kidal entre les parties signataires à l'accord. On estime à au moins 62 000, le nombre de personnes toujours déplacées dans le pays. Les pays voisins tels que la Mauritanie, le Niger et le Burkina Faso abritent toujours environ 138 000 réfugiés maliens et peu de mouvement de retour n'a été observé à ce jour.

Au Mali, la situation humanitaire s'est détériorée durant la période de soudure. Ces différents chocs ont encore plus affecté les moyens d'existence et la résilience de la population.

L'enquête nutritionnelle nationale SMART a récemment confirmé l'état nutritionnel précaire des enfants âgés de moins de 5 ans dans toutes les régions du Mali. La situation dans la région de Tombouctou est particulièrement préoccupante avec un taux de malnutrition aiguë globale (MAG) de 17,5% et un taux de malnutrition aiguë sévère (MAS) de 3,9%. Ces taux sont audessus des seuils d'urgence qui sont de 15% pour la MAG et 2% pour la MAS. En outre, les 3 régions du Nord du Mali (Gao, Tombouctou et Kidal) restent les zones les plus touchées par l'insécurité alimentaire. Pour l'ensemble du pays, on estime que 2 712 000 personnes souffrent d'insécurité alimentaire et 410 000 ont besoin d'une aide alimentaire d'urgence.

Par conséquent, au vu du niveau actuel des besoins tels qu'évalués par notre partenaire (lesquels ne vont certainement pas diminuer), un transfert de EUR 800 000 doit être opéré de l'objectif spécifique Natural disasters de la décision de financement

ECHO/WWD/BUD/2015/01000 vers l'objectif spécifique Man-made crisis pour couvrir les besoins de bases de la population, tels que l'accès à l'eau potable, la nutrition et l'aide alimentaire.

Nigeria: West Africa Regional Supply and Market Outlook December 14, 2015

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Source: Famine Early Warning System Network
Country: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo

ABOUT THIS REPORT

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) monitors trends in staple food supply and price trends in countries at risk of food insecurity. The Regional Supply and Market Outlook report provides a summary of regional staple food availability, surpluses and deficits during the current marketing year, projected price behavior, implications for local and regional commodity procurement, and essential market monitoring indicators. FEWS NET gratefully acknowledges partner organizations, national ministries of agriculture, national market information systems, regional organizations, and others for their assistance in providing the harvest estimates, commodity balance sheets, as well as trade and price data used in this report.

KEY MESSAGES

  • Aggregate regional cereal production is expected to be above average in 2015/16, contributing to generally stable prices (Figure 1 and 2).1 Regional maize and rice production reached record high levels.

  • Areas experiencing below average production and atypical deficits include Chad and Ghana. Production in the greater Lake Chad area (Northeastern Nigeria) and eastern Niger (Diffa) are expected to be below average and market activities are expected to remain disrupted due to conflict in the greater Lake Chad area. This may result in atypical price trends in affected markets.

  • Imports from stable international markets will fill structural regional deficits of rice and wheat. Global commodity markets are expected to remain well supplied and prices stable despite the El Niño conditions.

  • In Ghana, poor macroeconomic conditions, below average cereal production, and well-above average domestic prices have resulted in below-average exports. Favorable production in other areas of the Central basin will likely offset any major impacts.

  • Regional institutional procurement is expected to take place at average levels. Local and regional procurement may be feasible particularly in Mali (millet and sorghum) and central and northwestern Nigeria (maize).

Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone: Nutrition Implementing Partners (As of October 2015)

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Source: Government of Sierra Leone
Country: Sierra Leone

World: 500 enfants meurent chaque jour en Afrique subsaharienne à cause du manque d’eau salubre et d’un assainissement insuffisant, affirme l’UNICEF

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Source: UN Children's Fund
Country: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, World

La conférence de l’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre sur le financement du secteur de l’eau et de l’assainissement vise à obtenir davantage de fonds

DAKAR, Sénégal, 15 décembre 2015 – Quelque 180 000 enfants de moins de 5 ans meurent chaque année – soit à peu près 500 par jour – en Afrique subsaharienne à cause de maladies diarrhéiques imputables au manque de services d’eau, d’assainissement et d’hygiène (WASH), a déclaré l’UNICEF avant l’ouverture d’une conférence sur le financement du secteur à Dakar.

« Des enfants qui meurent chaque jour, des millions d’autres qui sont atteints d’un retard de croissance et un coût gigantesque pour l’économie, on ne saurait continuer comme si de rien n’était », a dit le Directeur régional de l’UNICEF pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre, Manuel Fontaine. « Le rythme des progrès doit s’accroître de façon exponentielle et cela va exiger des politiques vigoureuses, un financement solide et un changement radical des priorités chez ceux qui ont le pouvoir d’agir. »

Aujourd’hui, près de la moitié de la population mondiale qui n’a pas accès à des sources améliorées d’eau potable vit en Afrique subsaharienne et 700 millions de personnes de la région n’ont pas accès à des services d’assainissement. La population ayant quasiment doublé au cours des 25 dernières années dans la région, l’accès à l’assainissement y a progressé de seulement 6 % et l’accès à l’eau de 20 % au cours de la même période. Des millions de personnes sont donc laissées pour compte.

L’UNICEF affirme que, faute de mesures rapides, la situation risque de considérablement empirer au cours des 20 prochaines années, l’augmentation rapide de la population surpassant les efforts des gouvernements pour assurer les services essentiels. Par exemple, le nombre de personnes de la région qui pratiquent la défécation à l’air libre est aujourd’hui plus élevé qu’il ne l’était en 1990. Et pourtant, un lien a été établi entre la défécation à l’air libre et l’augmentation du nombre d’enfants atteints d’un retard de croissance.

La première conférence de l’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre sur les Mécanismes de financement innovants pour l’eau, l’assainissement et l’hygiène est organisée par l’UNICEF en collaboration avec le Gouvernement sénégalais et le Conseil des ministres africains chargés de l'eau.

L’UNICEF a invité 24 gouvernements de la sous-région à rencontrer des représentants des principales banques d’investissement, des organisations internationales et du monde des affaires ainsi que des experts. L’objectif est de trouver de nouveaux mécanismes permettant de réunir les quelque 20 à 30 milliards de dollars É.-U. dont le secteur WASH aura besoin chaque année pour parvenir à l’accès universel à l’eau et à l’assainissement en Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre.

L’ONU estime que les pertes économiques au niveau mondial dues à des services d’eau, d’assainissement et d’hygiène insuffisants s’élèvent chaque année à 260 milliards de dollars É.-U. La région Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre, celle où l’accès est le plus mauvais, supporte une part considérable de ce fardeau financier.

Aucun pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre ne dispose de l’accès universel à l’eau potable. Selon le Rapport 2015 du Programme commun OMS/UNICEF de surveillance de l'approvisionnement en eau et de l'assainissement (JMP), les taux de couverture les plus élevés sont à Sao Tomé-et-Principe (97 %), Gabon (93 %), et au Cabo Verde (92 %). À l’autre extrême, se trouvent des pays dont à peu près la moitié de la population n’a pas d’accès, la Guinée équatoriale (48 %), le Tchad (51 %) et la République démocratique du Congo (52 %) affichant les taux les plus faibles.

L’accès à l’assainissement est encore plus problématique. Dans les pays disposant de la meilleure couverture, jusqu’à une personne sur quatre n’a toujours pas accès à des installations sanitaires satisfaisantes. La Guinée équatoriale (75 %), Cabo Verde (72 %), et la Gambie (59 %) figurent aux trois premières places en termes d’accès. La couverture la plus faible est au Niger (11 %), au Togo (12 %) et au Tchad (12 %).

Cependant, le financement du secteur WASH est inégal et insuffisant. Aucun pays d’Afrique n’a alloué plus de 0,5 % de son PIB au secteur de l’eau, assainissement et hygiène (WASH). Parallèlement, sur les 3,8 milliards de dollars des É.-U. de l’Aide publique au développement (ADP) attribuée chaque année au secteur WASH, les trois quarts approximativement vont à l’eau et le quart restant à l’assainissement.

La plus grande partie de l’aide financière de l’ADP va à des pays dont la situation est plutôt déjà bonne et, bien que l’accès à l’eau et à l’assainissement en milieu rural soit bien moins développé qu’en milieu urbain, l’aide financière extérieure et intérieure va principalement aux systèmes des zones urbaines.

Parmi les principaux modèles de financement pour le secteur WASH qui seront discutés lors de la conférence figurent :

  • Une facilité pour le micro-financement WASH qui offrirait des prêts modiques aux prestataires et aux usagers pour aider les populations des villages à obtenir l’accès à l’eau et à l’assainissement.

  • Un Fonds de crédit WASH conçu pour fonctionner avec les secteurs financiers locaux des pays en développement pour offrir un fonds de roulement aux petites et moyennes entreprises s’occupant d’eau, d’assainissement et d’hygiène.

  • Un Fonds d’affectation spéciale pour le financement WASH, un mécanisme financé par des gouvernements et des fondations et administré par l’UNICEF et un autre organisme multilatéral qui permet d’accroître l’aide financière aux États membres pour les programmes portant sur l’eau, l’assainissement et l’hygiène.

  • Un Fonds d’urgence auto-renouvelable WASH visant à permettre de combler la période d’attente s’écoulant entre le moment où sont faites des promesses de donation par un financeur et le versement effectif des liquidités.

  • Un Fonds pour une vision commune du secteur WASH pour aider les entreprises à apporter leur contribution au secteur WASH en utilisant leurs propres modèles d’entreprise, cela en accord avec les pratiques habituelles de leur secteur d’activité. « Certes, nous savons ce qui doit être fait, mais nous devons trouver une façon de le faire plus vite et mieux, a dit Manuel Fontaine. De nombreux choix sont possibles mais ce qui n’est pas possible, c’est de continuer à laisser les enfants faire les frais de notre inaction. »

Note aux rédactions :

La conférence sur les Mécanismes de financement innovants pour WASH se déroule à Dakar, au Sénégal, du 15 au 17 décembre.

Y participeront les Gouvernements des pays suivants : Bénin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroun, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Gambie, Ghana, Guinée, Guinée-Bissau, Guinée équatoriale, Libéria, Mali, Mauritanie, Niger, Nigéria, République centrafricaine, République démocratique du Congo, Sao Tomé-et-Principe, Sénégal, Sierra Leone, Tchad, Togo.

Parmi les autres participants figurent : la Banque mondiale, la Banque africaine de développement, la Banque islamique de développement, la Banque européenne d’investissement, la Fondation Bill et Melinda Gates, USAID, Ecobank et d’autres. Voir la liste complète sur : http://washfinance.strikingly.com/

Téléchargement de matériaux multimédias dont photos et vidéos sur : http://uni.cf/1NZVvekÀ propos de l’UNICEF L’UNICEF promeut les droits et le bien-être de chaque enfant, dans tout ce que nous faisons. Nous travaillons dans 190 pays et territoires du monde entier avec nos partenaires pour faire de cet engagement une réalité, avec un effort particulier pour atteindre les enfants les plus vulnérables et marginalisés, dans l’intérêt de tous les enfants, où qu’ils soient. Pour en savoir plus sur l’UNICEF et son travail, veuillez consulter le site : www.unicef.org/french

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Pour plus d’informations ou pour l’organisation d’interviews, merci de contacter :
Timothy James Irwin, +221-338695858 Ext 271, tjirwin@unicef.org Rita Ann Wallace, Mobile : +1 917-213-4034, rwallace@unicef.org

Sierra Leone: UNHRD Operations Update - Response to the Ebola Outbreak, as of 14 December, 2015

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Source: World Food Programme
Country: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone

  • UNHRD continues to dispatch operational equipment for its Partners, most recently supporting WHO and WFP by sending plastic pallets and vehicles to Guinea and Liberia.

  • UNHRD facilities in Accra and Las Palmas have served as regional staging areas and the Accra depot hosted UNMEER headquar-ters.

  • On behalf of WFP, UNHRD procured and dispatched construction material and equipment for remote logistics hubs, Ebola Treatment Units and Community Care Centres. Most recently, in collaboration with WHO, UNHRD began procuring and dispatching equipment to establish camps for teams tracing EVD. Members of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) are building the camps.

Cameroon: West and Central Africa Region Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot (8 – 14 December 2015)

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Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone

CAMEROON

SUICIDE BLAST KILLS SEVEN

At least seven civilians were killed on 11 December in a suicide attack in Kolofata in Far North Region which has repeatedly come under attack by suspected Boko Haram members. A series of suicide bombings have targeted civilians and security forces in the region since July.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

AID WORKERS ATTACKED

On 9 December, armed men in Bossangoa attacked, briefly detained and robbed more than 20 staff members of several international NGOs who were travelling on the road that links Bossangoa and Kamba Kota. In a separate incident on the same day, three humanitarian workers were attacked and robbed by armed assailants in Bangui’s PK9 neighbourhood. Since the start of the year, more than 200 attacks have been perpetrated against humanitarian organizations. UN Humanitarian Coordinator Aurélien Agbénonci condemned the attacks.

FIVE KILLED IN POLL DAY VIOLENCE

Heavy weapons fire during the 13 December referendum vote killed at least five people in Bangui’s PK5 district as people turned up to cast their ballots, prompting UN peacekeepers to move in to protect lives. The vote is seen as a test run for presidential and parliamentary elections due on 27 December.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC of CONGO

FLOODS KILL 31, LEAVE 20,000 HOMELESS

As of 9 December, heavy flooding triggered by torrential rains since 19 November had killed 31 people and rendered some 20,000 others homeless in the capital Kinshasa. Many of the deaths were as a result of collapsing houses in poor neighbourhoods in the east and south of the city along River Congo. President Joseph Kabila has ordered the Kinshasa municipality and the central government to provide assistance to those affected.

EVD REGIONAL

LIBERIAN EVD CONTACTS END OBSERVATION PERIOD

Liberia has reported no new case since 20 November. All the 165 contacts identified following the resurgence of Ebola on 19 November successfully completed their 21-day observation period on 11 December and are no longer being monitored. As of 14 December, no new cases were reported in Guinea or Sierra Leone. In Sierra Leone, two districts - Kenema and Western Area - have been chosen as pilot districts to transfer Ebola coordination responsibilities fro


Cameroon: Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre: Aperçu humanitaire hebdomadaire (8 – 14 décembre 2015)

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Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone

CAMEROUN

SEPT PERSONNES TUÉES DANS UN ATTENTAT-SUICIDE

Au moins sept civils ont été tués le 11 décembre dans un attentat suicide à Kolofata, dans la région de l’ExtrêmeNord qui a été attaquée à plusieurs reprises par des membres présumés de Boko Haram. Depuis juillet, une série d’attentat suicide a visé des civils et les forces de sécurité de la région.

REPUBLIQUE CENTRAFRICAINE

TRAVAILLEURS HUMANITAIRES ATTAQUÉS

Le 9 décembre, des hommes armés de Bossangoa ont attaqué et brièvement détenu et volé plus de 20 membres du personnel de plusieurs ONG internationales qui voyageaient sur la route qui relie Bossangoa à Kamba Kota. Dans un incident séparé, le même jour, trois travailleurs humanitaires ont été attaqués et volés par des assaillants armés dans le quartier PK9 de Bangui.
Depuis le début de l'année, plus de 200 attaques ont été perpétrées contre les organisations humanitaires. Le Coordonnateur Humanitaire des Nations Unies, Aurélien Agbénonci, a condamné ces attaques.

CINQ MORTS DANS DES VIOLENCES LE JOUR DU SCRUTIN

Des tirs d'armes lourdes pendant le scrutin référendaire du 13 décembre ont tué au moins cinq personnes dans le quartier PK5 de Bangui, incitant les Casques bleus à réagir pour protéger la vie des populations civiles. Le scrutin est considéré comme un test pour les élections présidentielles et législatives prévues le 27 décembre.

REPUBLIQUE DEMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO

DES INONDATIONS FONT 31 MORTS ET 20 000 SANS ABRI

Au 9 décembre, 31 personnes ont trouvé la mort et quelques 20 000 autres sont devenus sans abri dans la capitale Kinshasa suite aux fortes inondations provoquées par des pluies torrentielles sévissant depuis le 19 novembre.
Beaucoup de décès ont été provoqués par l'effondrement de maisons dans les quartiers pauvres à l'est et au sud de la ville, le long du fleuve Congo. Le Président Joseph Kabila a ordonné à la commune de Kinshasa et au gouvernement central de fournir une assistance aux personnes touchées.

MALADIE A VIRUS ÉBOLA (MVE) / RÉGIONAL

FIN DE LA PÉRIODE D'OBSERVATION DES CONTACTS AU LIBERIA

Le Libéria n’a signalé aucun nouveau cas MVE depuis le 20 novembre. Au 11 décembre, la totalité des 165 contacts identifiés le 19 novembre suite à la résurgence du virus Ebola , ont terminé avec succès leur période d'observation de 21 jours. Au 14 décembre, aucun nouveau cas n'a été signalé en Guinée ou en Sierra Leone.
En Sierra Leone, deux districts - Kenema et la Zone de l'Ouest - ont été choisis comme districts pilotes pour transférer la responsabilité de la coordination Ebola du niveau national au niveau du district.

Sierra Leone: Emergency Appeal Operation Update: Ebola Virus Disease Emergency Appeals (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Global Coordination & Preparedness) - Update No. 28

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Source: International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies
Country: Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone

Current epidemiological situation + country-specific information

The spread of Ebola in West Africa has slowed intensely, but enormous challenges remain in conquering this scourge while re-establishing basic social services and building resilience in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. This unparalled outbreak has hit some of the most vulnerable communities in some of the world’s poorest countries.

On 20 November 2015, the Government of Liberia confirmed three new cases of Ebola from a family of six living in an area of Monrovia. All the cases were transferred to an Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU). One of the three confirmed cases, a boy, died on 23 November. His brother and father continued with the treatment.

There have not been any additional/new confirmed cases so far. A total of 166 contacts related to the current cluster were listed and continued with daily follow-up. The contacts are being seen by contacts tracers and remained asymptomatic.

According to the WHO Ebola Situation Report of 2 December 2015, these recent cases in Liberia highlight the importance of robust surveillance measures to ensure the rapid detection of any reintroduction or reemergence of EVD in currently unaffected areas.

World: West and Central Africa: Areas of High Emigration and Migratory Corridors

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Source: International Organization for Migration
Country: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, World

Greece: Irregular Migrants from West and Central Africa registered in Greece and Italy - Between January and October 2015

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Source: International Organization for Migration
Country: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Italy, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, World

Liberia: GIS Support for the MSF Ebola response in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone - Case Study, 2nd edition

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Source: Médecins Sans Frontières
Country: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

As part of the 2014–2015 Ebola response operation in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Médecins Sans Frontières Switzerland (MSF-CH) started to systematically deploy dedicated Geographic Information Systems (GIS) officers to the field.

Primarily mandated to work in close collaboration with the epidemiologists, the GIS officers were charged with producing general overview maps, as well as topical maps that supported different aspects of the operation.

Both field and headquarters staff interviewed for this case study stressed that having dedicated GIS officers in the field was a major asset that had a significant positive impact on the operation. GIS support helped programme staff perform their tasks faster and target their activities more precisely and with fewer resources.

In total, the GIS officers produced more than 800 maps and related information products during 16 missions that took place between March 2014 and May 2015.

The following outputs were frequently mentioned as being the most useful:

Base maps

Significant parts of the affected countries were very poorly mapped or had previously not been mapped at all. GIS officers, with the support of local staff and the virtual OpenStreetMap community, quickly produced maps that showed roads, buildings and other infrastructure. These base maps were not only useful for MSF, but were also helpful in building relationships with other humanitarian actors and representatives of the local governments.

Identification of village, community and street names

GIS officers produced databases and maps with both the official and the colloquial names of villages, communities and streets in the areas of intervention. This helped staff to clarify quickly where patients had come from, which thereby enabled MSF to reach people in these locations more quickly.

Visualizations

Weekly updated maps of confirmed and suspected Ebola cases helped translate the progression of the epidemic from technical data into an easy-to-grasp map. As a result, staff at all levels had a better understanding of the emergency.

The interviews also highlighted the fact that most MSF staff knew very little about GIS prior to their deployment. Working alongside the GIS officers gradually changed that, and programme staff who have worked with GIS officers are now more likely to actively request GIS support. All interviewees emphasized that having the GIS officers in the field was essential for this learning process to occur.

Given the universally positive feedback on the role of the GIS officers, it is recommended that headquarters make GIS officers available to field offices on a more regular basis, particularly during epidemics.

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND

In March 2014, Ebola viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) broke out in southern Guinea. In the following months, the disease spread through parts of Guinea and most of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) quickly deployed teams to assist with the response. In total, MSF employed more than 4,000 national staff from the affected countries and 1,300 international staff.

As part of this response, MSF Switzerland (MSF-CH) deployed nine dedicated Geographic Information Systems (GIS) officers for a total of 16 missions to the three countries. As the response progressed, this GIS capacity, which was provided by and initially supported the Operational Centre Geneva (OCG), turned into an intersectional resource that was also used by the Operational Centre Amsterdam (OCA) and the Operational Centre Brussels (OCB), as well as, to a lesser degree, by the Operational Centre Barcelona (OCBA) and the Operational Centre Paris (OCP).

While MSF staff have been using maps and GIS technology for many years, the use of dedicated GIS staff in the field was still very uncommon until late 2014.

The decision to send dedicated GIS officers to the affected countries was informed by a study on the use of GIS within MSF1, which had identified epidemiology as “the domain where GIS can bring the most positive evolution”2. It was, furthermore, based on the GIS Strategy for MSF-CH3 (see also 3. Strategic Objectives).

This case study aims to examine whether the GIS officers’ missions to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have succeeded in supporting the emergency response and furthering the strategic goals defined in the GIS Strategy. The findings of this case study are based on oral and written interviews with 20 MSF team members and two external partners who were either deployed as part of the Ebola response themselves or at headquarters; it is also based on the end-of-mission reports of five GIS officers.

This case study is an update of the first case study, written in July 2014.
Where the first study looked only at the first deployment of a GIS officer to the field in Guéckédou, Guinea, this document summarizes the experiences and lessons learnt from all deployments that were part of the Ebola response, including the first mission.

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