Summary of major revisions made to emergency plan of action:
This EpoA update extends the target area (currently limited to the districts of Koinadugu, Kono, Bombali,
Kailahun and western area rural/urban) to include Kenema district in the East of the country, which is where the latest reported cases originated from.
The revised plan will focus on continuing communications and sensitization activities at the same time building the capacities and support the volunteers involved in the campaigns. Following the first DREF allocation, 90 volunteers were trained by the MoH on ebola awareness. This plan aims to train an additional 15 volunteers per targeted district, amounting to a total of 210 volunteers trained, including 30 in Kenema.
The new volunteers will be trained in ebola awareness. All 210 volunteers will be trained on the use of Personal protective equipment (PPE), psychosocial support (PSS), hygiene promotion (HP) and epidemic control.
A special communications strategy using community radio in Kailahun will be developed. Community drama activities will be included also mobile cinema. A video will be developed in coordination with UNFPA to be shown at community level to support dissemination activities.
This EPoA update announces a second DREF allocation of CHF 114,119 to continue current activities and scale up where necessary in response to the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in Sierra Leone.
This update changes the operation timeframe from three to five months.
A. Situation analysis
Description
On 26th May 2014, the National Ebola Task force of the Ministry of Health announced confirmed cases of Ebola within the borders of Sierra Leone. Since then, the number of confirmed cases has increased steadily. As of 6th of June 2014, the number of cases confirmed by the Ministry of Health & Social Welfare (MOHSW) of Sierra Leone totals 33 laboratory confirmed cases (an increase of 9 cases since June 4th) and 89 suspected cases and six deaths of Ebola virus disease (EVD). To date, all confirmed cases have epidemiological links to Kailahun district, however, there is now one confirmed case in Mambolo, Kambia District, which is reported to be a driver who travelled from Kailahun when sick. After admission to a private hospital, this case was transferred to the ebola treatment centre in Kenema. A number of suspected cases in Freetown have been excluded by laboratory testing.
The MoHSW reports that affected communities in Kissi Teng are refusing to allow entry of government officials, which may indicate that the actual number of cases could be higher than the officially reported figures.
Currently there is one treatment centre in Kenema, set up in the Lassa fever hospital, run by the MoHSW, another one will be established in Kailahun by Doctors without Borders (MSF), and there will be another one in Laka, Freetown, as a collaboration between MSF and the MoHSW.
The MoHSW has moved from the preparedness phase to the emergency phase and on June 6th, the Minister of Health requested partner support in contact tracing. MoHSW will provide training but they are stretched with human resources. A need for increased communications and sensitization campaigns was also stressed by the minister.
Following the MoHSW decision, the SLRCS has shifted from preparedness to response, and have extended the area of operation from the original 6 border districts of Kambia, Koinadugu, Kono, Bombali, Kailahun and western area rural/urban, to include Kenema district in the East of the country since it borders the affected district and is a referral target district. The inclusion of this district followed a request from the MoHSW. The revised plan will focus on continuing communications and sensitization activities at the same time building the capacities and support the volunteers involved in this campaigns.
The FACT team deployed in the field will be carrying on rapid assessments with the NS. This will provide a more accurate idea of what the next steps potentially could be. Based on the findings, an appeal might be launched.