Summary
IFRC’s Ebola strategic framework is organised around 5 outcomes:
The epidemic is stopped
National Societies have better Ebola preparedness and stronger long term capacities
IFRC operations are well coordinated
Safe and Dignified Burials (SDB) are effectively carried out by all actors
Recovery of community life and livelihoods Six emergency appeals were launched to combat Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreaks in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal, while providing coordination and technical support at the regional and global level.
In helping stop the epidemic, the appeal operations employ a 5 pillar approach 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.
Smaller preparedness and response operations were financed by the IFRC Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) in Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Togo, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Kenya, Guinea Bissau and Ethiopia. In total, 16 countries in Africa have launched emergency operations relating to this outbreak.3
To date there have been a total of 26,724 reported confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of EVD in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with 11,065 reported deaths. A total of seven new confirmed cases were reported in Guinea and two in Sierra Leone in the week to 10 May, the lowest weekly total in 2015.
Of the seven confirmed cases reported from Guinea, six occurred in the prefecture of Forecariah, which has been the focus of transmission for several weeks. Four of these cases were recorded in the central sub-prefecture of Moussayah, which borders the Sierra Leonean district of Kambia. Cases in Guinea continue to be identified post-mortem in the community, with unknown links to previously reported cases.
On 9 May 2015, Liberia was declared Ebola-free, after completing 42 days since the last laboratoryconfirmed case was buried on 28 March 2015. The President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf asked Liberians to celebrate, “but stay mindful and vigilant”. Almost 4,700 Ebola-related deaths have been recorded in Liberia, more than in any other affected country. The MoHSW stressed that although the outbreak is over, neighbouring countries continue to have confirmed cases, which poses a great risk to Liberia. The Government and all stakeholders remain on high alert, and the country is being advised to remain vigilant and continue to practice safe hygiene behaviours.
The MoHSW is now developing a strategy for Ebola survivors after receiving reports from different counties on severe health problems that survivors are facing, months after being discharged from Ebola Treatment Units. It is being increasingly documented that Ebola survivors are likely to experience joint pain, fatigue, headaches, blurred or lost vision, and hearing impairments.
Reports of measles outbreaks continue in different counties, and LNRCS with the support from the IFRC and American Red Cross is providing volunteers to conduct social mobilization in all 15 counties for the National Integrated Measles, Polio Vaccination and De-Worming Campaign that will take place in the period 8 – 14 May 2015. A number of suspected cases of whooping cough have also been reported in Grand Kru County. A disease surveillance officer has been deployed for further investigation. The LNRCS/IFRC hub team is closely following up this situation with the county health team.
As at 12 May, for the first time since the beginning of the outbreak in Sierra Leone, the country has reported zero confirmed cases for more than eight consecutive days. In the week prior to this, only two cases were reported. Both cases occurred in the Moa Wharf area of the East 1 Chiefdom of the capital, Freetown. The cases are a mother and her 10-year old daughter, both of whom are known contacts of a previous case in the Moa Wharf area, and were under quarantine at the time of symptom onset.