Summary
IFRC supports 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 an Ebola regional framework, comprising: (1) Beneficiary Communication and Social Mobilization; (2) Contact Tracing and Surveillance; (3) Psychosocial Support; (4) Case Management; and (5) Safe and Dignified Burials (SDB) and Disinfection. In addition, a regional appeal was launched to accommodate multi-country support needs. IFRC has also supported smaller preparedness and response operations financed under its Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) in Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Togo, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Kenya, Guinea Bissau and Ethiopia, making a total of 16 countries that have emergency operations relating to this outbreak.
A decrease in new Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) infections has been noted in previous hotspot areas, aided by agency interventions on the ground including those of the Red Cross. However, there is an increase in cases in previously unaffected regions, for example in Koinadugu, Sierra Leone—a district previously unaffected by the virus, where 50 people have died since mid-October. In total, 60 cases have been confirmed and more than 200 people have been quarantined in this district. This is very worrying as the district had been Ebola –free for 6 months since the outbreak was first reported in Sierra Leone.
Mali has confirmed a second Ebola death. The victim is a nurse at Pasteur Clinic Bamako who had treated a man who arrived from Guinea. Following this, more than 90 people have been put under quarantine in Bamako. This comes just a day after the initial contacts related to the case of the two-year old girl who died last month were released from quarantine after completion of 21 days. Red Cross continues to closely monitor the situation in Mali. The National society is currently not seeking funding as there are enough resources to cover the training activities that are currently in progress.