November 14, 2014 - International Medical Corps is deploying an Emergency Response Team to Mali where the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported three deaths attributed to Ebola. International Medical Corps’ Emergency Response Teams are also on the ground in Liberia and Sierra Leone providing both lifesaving treatment and training. Teams are operating Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs) that will provide access to treatment to 1.5 million people. International Medical Corps is urgently scaling up training programs to equip frontline health care workers with the skills to stop this outbreak at the source.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the largest, most deadly in history. As of early November there have been over 14,000 suspected, probable and confirmed Ebola cases in eight countries since the outbreak began in March 2014. WHO says the real number could be three times higher. In its “worst-case” scenario prediction, the CDC estimates that some 1.4 million people could be infected by the end of January 2015.
Treatment
International Medical Corps, which currently operates an ETU in Bong County, Liberia, plans to operate a total of four such ETUs in West Africa—two each in Liberia and Sierra Leone providing access to care for some 1.5 million people. We are working closely with WHO, the CDC, the responsible government authorities in both affected countries, the US and UK governments, donor agencies and partner organizations on the ETU design to make sure each meets all isolation, care and safety needs. The semi-permanent buildings include dressing rooms, morgue, burial site, decontamination, laundry, and treatment facilities. Safe transport to the unit is ensured by ambulance. Most of the staff—about 90%—are local health care workers trained in Ebola treatment and prevention.
Mali - International Medical Corps is deploying an Emergency Response Team to Mali, the newest country to report cases of the Ebola virus. WHO is reporting three deaths among four suspected and probable cases in the West African country. International Medical Corps’ team will consist of medical personnel and experts in water, sanitation, hygiene and logistics.
The Malian government is in the process of tracing at least 250 people across four locations who have possibly had contact with Ebola victims. Mali shares an 800 kilometer border with Guinea, where the first case of Ebola in the region was reported. Having operated in Mali since early 2013, International Medical Corps is well placed to respond quickly to the outbreak. International Medical Corps originally responded following the conflict in the north of the country where 3.3 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance. International Medical Corps currently delivers programs in Mali in emergency health, nutrition, and women’s and children’s health and protection.
Liberia - On September 15, International Medical Corps opened a 70-bed Ebola Treatment Unit in Bong County, Liberia, four hours north of Monrovia. It will soon be at capacity, requiring 200 clinical staff working 24/7. The recently opened U.S. Navy lab at nearby Cuttington University has cut the wait time for Ebola blood test results from several days to just hours, dramatically reducing exposure to the virus for those who are not infected. A second unit will be located in Margibi County, an area southwest of Bong with a population of close to 200,000.
Sierra Leone - International Medical Corps is building an ETU in Lunsar, Port Loko District, which has among the highest rates of Ebola in the country. The facility, about 75 miles northeast of the capital, Freetown, has the capacity for 50 beds for suspected and confirmed cases and is due to admit its first patients before the end of November. The center will include staff accommodations and an onsite laboratory. International Medical Corps-trained psychosocial counselors will work at the center and throughout the neighboring Ebola-effected communities. Construction of a second 50-bed treatment center, based on the same model as Lunsar, is well underway in hard-hit Makeni, the country's fourth largest city. That treatment center, about 110 miles northeast of Freetown, is expected to open in mid-December.
Training
International Medical Corps has developed a curriculum and a broad-based training strategy to meet critical staffing needs in both Liberia and Sierra Leone. (The UN Development Program in Liberia estimates that it needs 40,000 trained community healthcare workers in that country alone.) Our trainees will include local community residents and community-based organizations; international healthcare workers and volunteers; local and national staff; and partner organizations.
We will provide training through Ebola Training Centers located at existing International Medical Corps facilities. The training will help expand the number of skilled healthcare staff, enabling an increase in the number of beds available for treatment, and ensuring quality and compliance with recommended protocols. Mobile Support Teams will help to provide ongoing guidance and support. Over the next six months, International Medical Corps will train 3,500 frontline healthcare workers and five partner organizations, helping to open 10 additional Ebola Treatment Units and staff more.
Ebola Training Centers - International Medical Corps is developing Ebola Training Centers to provide partners and local staff with critical training in Ebola treatment center management and patient case management. In Liberia, this center will be located adjacent to our Bong County treatment facility, and in Sierra Leone, at our unit in Lunsar. Our 7-12-day curriculum, developed in collaboration with partners, includes both classroom and practicum training conducted by professionals experienced in unit management, Ebola treatment and patient care. Topics include management of an Ebola Treatment Unit; the use of personal protective equipment; safe patient transport; admission; triage; psychosocial support; quality assurance; infection control; case management for Ebola patients; and management of the dead.
Mobile Support Training Teams - International Medical Corps is creating mobile support teams of trainers in Liberia. This will help us accelerate and expand our training programs, and ensure the safety of health workers, Ebola treatment center staff, and patients. Each mobile team will consist of 4-8 individuals, including a training and quality assurance director, doctors, nurses, and specialists such as epidemiologists, psychosocial workers, water and sanitation engineers, and logisticians. The mobile teams will travel to International Medical Corps and partners treatment centers, providing follow up training, quality control and compliance, helping to ensure that protocols are followed. Mobile staff will also be available for urgent deployments and surge capacity as needed.
Contact: Jaya Vadlamudi, Senior Communications Officer, International Medical Corps
+1 310 826 7800 Jvadlamudi@InternationalMedicalCorps.org
Since its inception 30 years ago, International Medical Corps' mission has been consistent: relieve the suffering of those impacted by war, natural disaster and disease, by delivering vital health care services that focus on training. This approach of helping people help themselves is critical to returning devastated populations to self-reliance. For more information visit: www.InternationalMedicalCorps.org. Also see us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.