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By Pete Harrison
The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has now registered more than 2,000 confirmed and probable cases. Despite the commitment and tenacity of Medair and other NGOs that responded to the survey, the number of people infected with the deadly Ebola virus continues to rise. The first thousand cases were recorded over nearly eight months, while the other two thousand appeared in less than two and a half months.
When thinking about people responding to Ebola outbreaks, you probably imagine nurses and doctors wearing protective gear and treating Ebola patients. These nurses and doctors are very present on the Ebola front and give their best to save the lives of their patients. Yet there is still a lot going on behind the scenes.
An effective and consistent Ebola response system relies on screening, referral, treatment, vaccination and infection prevention and control, all in line with disease prevention and surveillance. local level. As response efforts continue in DR Congo, it is essential that people in the affected areas are treated with dignity and empowered to adopt preventive measures. The end of the epidemic can only be achieved by and by communities affected by the Ebola virus.
During the Ebola crisis in West Africa, case rates only decreased when communities adopted key prevention measures and put them into practice. The interviewed organizations continued to support the isolation and treatment of patients, but much of the work to stop the transmission of the disease has been completed in villages and neighborhoods. Neighbors changed their greeting, mothers reminded their children to wash their hands and families adapted their funeral customs. They were the true decision makers of change. Stakeholders in DR Congo would do well to remember it.
Agwandia Jermanine is an Ebola survivor who believes in the importance of actively involving the community in the prevention and response to Ebola.. This strong, lively woman of 65 is a traditional healer in her community. When Medair organized a traditional healer session to engage this key group of community leaders on Ebola, someone asked, "How do you know if Ebola is real?" Agwandia stood up and said, "I know that Ebola is real because I've had it. "
Community members such as Agwandia are essential to effective community-led engagement that enables open dialogue. A commitment based on trust will enable communities to learn about preventative measures to save the life of the Ebola virus and to be empowered to adopt the appropriate changes for their own communities.
The importance of community involvement is increasingly recognized after the highly publicized attacks on Ebola treatment facilities in February. These attacks have demonstrated in a violent way that the acceptance of the Ebola response has not yet been accepted in many communities.
We gain trust by promoting dialogue, promoting local recruitment and listening to all the needs expressed by communities, not just those related to Ebola. However, gains in trust are compromised by civil-military relations that move away from humanitarian principles and reinforce suspicions of community members: "If it's really an illness, why was the ambulance accompanied by a group of police? For me, it was more like an arrest. "
Two key compromises can help stakeholders avoid the use of military escorts as a means of gaining secure access. First, organizations can work with partners who have a pre-established relationship with communities in the region and can obtain unescorted access. Second, organizations can accept an access deadline, asking community leaders to come meet with them, to discuss the type of access or activities that would be acceptable. In this way, the organization becomes a guest of local management rather than an intrusive presence.
There have been encouraging recent developments. Recently, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee – the main interagency coordinating mechanism for humanitarian aid – recognized the seriousness of the Ebola epidemic in DR Congo and said that the Ebola crisis required a major intensification, activating the highest international alert. One of the priorities of the extension is improved community engagement and coordination.
Medair welcomes the activation of the highest level of emergency response. In doing so, we urge the Congolese government, international policymakers and donors to fully support the response work, while reviewing its quality and focus.
A made-to-measure community engagement strategy must be at the forefront. It is essential to equip and mobilize communities with sensitivity to protect themselves. Ordinary Congolese are the most severely affected by the epidemic and must therefore be the most involved in the response.
The overall high-level changes in the Ebola response are encouraging, as encouraging local initiatives are taking place every day. One such example is a local dance group in Beni City. When the group witnessed the spread of the epidemic from its source in Mabalako to the city of Beni, it created a routine to raise public awareness of the disease. They asked Rebecca Langer, health project manager at Medair Health and dancer, about the choreography. Since then, Medair has involved the group in community engagement sessions in neighborhoods severely affected by the epidemic, particularly if there is a need to better engage with youth. The initiative and sense of belonging exhibited by this type of group should be celebrated and reproduced as far as possible. Engaging with the community is really the only way to quickly end the epidemic.
In response to the Ebola outbreak, Medair supports more than 70 health facilities in eastern DRC with interventions in the areas of health, nutrition, health and nutrition. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and related interventions.
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