As the worst outbreak of Ebola in recorded history continues to devastate West Africa, the global Red Cross network is scaling up efforts to combat the deadly virus, even launching a new health facility in the hard-hit Kenema district. So far, the American Red Cross has contributed $2.6 million to the fight against Ebola.
In Sierra Leone—where more than 1,400 Ebola cases have been detected—the Red Cross is opening the Ebola treatment center to relieve pressure on the local government hospital, where several doctors and nurses have fallen victim to the virus. Before admitting an estimated 60 patients over the next few weeks, the clinic’s volunteers need to undergo a rigorous training in Geneva, Switzerland. Once finished, they will travel to the heart of the Ebola outbreak nearly 3,000 miles away.
Many of the 26 trainees are leaving the comfort of high-resource medical centers to work in a facility that operates on the basics. Representing seven different countries, the doctors, nurses, paramedics, health advisers and sanitation specialists are unrecognizable in their protective suits, masks, goggles and aprons. Getting dressed takes nearly 20 minutes but it’s a matter of life and death. Literally. Sweat drips and goggles fog after just moments, but the heat is nothing compared to where they are going.
“It will be like working under the leadership of an air traffic controller,” Panu Saaristo, Senior Officer for Emergency Health at the International Federation of the Red Cross tells them about their upcoming stint in Sierra Leone.
Red Cross health experts recently returned from West Africa are teaching the trainees everything from setting up safe treatment centers to handling highly-contagious bodies, disinfecting ambulances, and waste disposal. Cultural sensitivity is critical, the trainees learn, as they will be entering a community riddled with fear and anxiety. Above all, trainers emphasize personal safety. You must be healthy to be able to help and treat others.
It is physically and mentally exhausting.
“None of the mistakes happen when you first arrive,” says Alex Kumar, a trainee from the British Red Cross who has served in high-pressure medical responses before. “They happen three weeks in when you are so tired you forget to think.”
The first contingent of workers leaves for Sierra Leone immediately following their training. They will take no shortcuts when it comes to protecting themselves on this “no-touch mission.” They will not touch anyone without wearing protective gear, including each other, the entire time in the field. Working in pairs, they will be each other’s eyes, ears, and lifelines while treating patients in high-risk areas.
The new treatment center is just one part of a larger effort to combat Ebola in West Africa. More than 4,000 Red Cross volunteers are leading disease prevention efforts, providing psychosocial support and assisting in the management of dead bodies in the region. Money contributed by the American Red Cross is being used to strengthen the capacities of local Red Cross societies to manage the outbreak, assist with the epidemiological investigation and increase public awareness about virus prevention.
Supported by the global Red Cross network, including the American Red Cross, the volunteers aim to deliver education and assistance to nearly 38 million people in twelve countries in Western Africa.
The American Red Cross has also deployed two IT specialists to Sierra Leone and is working with the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap team to provide accurate maps to relief agencies working on the ground.
To support Red Cross relief efforts in West Africa click here.