Fighting Ebola is going to test the humanitarian system to its limit.
The deadly virus is replicating at a frightening rate. While predictions vary, it’s possible the world will be fighting Ebola in West Africa for a year or more.
As of October 3, the current outbreak included almost 7,500 confirmed cases. The real number of cases is likely to be significantly higher. The narrow window of opportunity to contain the epidemic is closing.
Doctors of the World (also known as Médecins du Monde, or MdM) is working in Liberia and Sierra Leone to prevent Ebola’s spread and shore up overwhelmed local healthcare systems. It is also working to prevent transmission in neighboring Ivory Coast.
In Liberia, the worst-hit area to date, MdM is training local health workers to coordinate with communities to raise awareness and prevent transmission. It is also training local health workers to identify and treat suspected cases, as well as providing medications and essential protective equipment.
MdM is also working to keep five local health centers open to treat non-Ebola patients. This is an urgent need given that the number of collateral casualties – people suffering from other illnesses that are going untreated – is reported to be rising swiftly. These centers serve some 600,000 people in the Liberian capital, Monrovia.
In Sierra Leone, MdM is using its deep ties based on fourteen years of on-the-ground work to support the efforts of local communities and healthcare authorities to prevent Ebola’s transmission in the Koinadugu district, in the north of the country. It is participating in a pioneering automated contact-tracing project, and is likely to expand its programming in the coming weeks.
Ivory Coast, which borders both Liberia and Sierra Leone, has not yet had any reported Ebola cases. MdM is working to support prevention efforts in 125 health centers in the country’s southwest.
Doctors of the World is an international humanitarian network that works in more than 70 countries worldwide. The response in Liberia and Ivory Coast is being led by MdM France. The response in Sierra Leone is being led by MdM Spain.
MdM is also cooperating closely with other humanitarian groups, including the International Rescue Committee and Save the Children.
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