Summary
IFRC continues to support National Societies with international emergency appeals to combat Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. The appeals employ a 5 pillar approach spelled out in the Ebola regional framework. These include: (1) Beneficiary Communication and Social Mobilization; (2) Contact Tracing and Surveillance; (3) Psychosocial Support; (4) Case Management; and (5) Dead Body Management, Burials and Disinfection. In addition, a regional appeal has been launched to cater to multi-country support needs.
IFRC also continues to support smaller preparedness and response operations financed under the IFRC’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) in Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Togo, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Kenya and Guinea Bissau, bringing the total to 15 countries with emergency operations relating to this outbreak.1 A regional Ebola response operational framework is currently being developed. The framework will outline the role and guide the work of the of the IFRC in supporting African Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in responding to the current Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak, to stop further spread and increase preparedness. In doing so it will provide strategic direction, focus and coherence in support of the country level emergency operations. It will guide the collective EVD response and communication of RCRC Movement partners.
The recent Planning Conference for Ebola Response organised by United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) in Accra (15 to 18 October) had an objective to produce a comprehensive Ebola emergency response operational plan based on the Ebola response strategy developed by the UN Special Envoy. The intention is to develop an operational plan that is achievable and, if achieved, will accomplish the strategic objectives identified in the response strategy in support of the national efforts and plans.. In this pursuit and in order to ensure adequate, coherent and coordinated international support to national plans that will identify all the necessary lines of action; assign responsibility to an actor or actors for the lines of action, and ensure there are no gaps; identify resource requirements (human, material and financial) for each line of action; set deadlines to achieve specific results within each line of action; identify metrics to measure performance across various indicators within each line of action, and associated reporting. The detailed finalised plan has not been officialised yet but for safe and dignified burials, UNMEER is expecting the IFRC to take the lead in supporting the Red Cross across the three affected countries.