WaterAid and Partners Planning Meeting J&E RESORT, BO.

Transcription

1 WaterAid and Partners Planning Meeting J&E RESORT, BO.

2 Locations: Freetown, Kenema, Pujehun and Bonthe Districts Duration: 3 months i.e. 2 nd January to 31 st March 2015 Project Description Title: Public awareness raising on the Ebola disease in Sierra Leone Purpose: To reduce the spread of the ebola disease through public awareness raising in Freetown, Kenema, Pujehun and Bonthe. Goal Reduced cases of the ebola virus disease in Sierra Leone

3 Summary of Ebola Interventions 1/2 Our CSOs at the national level have been involved from social mobilization efforts to monitoring of health sector delivery and responses. Among the many activities undertaken, below are broad lines of activities thus far: Building Communities Capacities to actively involve and participate in the EVD response: Conducted induction Trainings for Community Mobilizers and Volunteers on Preventive and Response Measures to EVD in across the country. Community Outreach and Education Campaigns: Door-to-Door Sensitization and awareness raising on EVD Prevention and Response in all 4 Districts through the respective WASH-Net Focal Points. The newly instituted Chiefdom Ebola Byelaws were also widely popularized by the team to ensure citizen s compliance. Community Town Hall Meetings were also organized as a measure to provide the level of interface between citizens and stakeholders.

4 Summary of Ebola Interventions 2/2 Monitoring Response: Support to the Monitoring of Road Blocks, Quarantined Houses and the Identification of Conflict Drivers in Kambia District. Media Outreaches: Engaging the media have been a pivotal part of the overall response drive to not only support government in the entire emergency response, but to also provide the needed community education in rolling back the spread of the virus. Advocacy/Ebola Governance: Despite civil society organizations active involvement in other major coordination processes, advocacy efforts from press releases, policy briefs and dialogue meetings with state actors and development partners, CSOs have been key in raising the flag on some of the critical challenges that are hampering the overall response.

5 Monitoring of Quarantined Communities Western Urban

6 Produced and distributes 2,000 IEC/BCC materials in 4 districts as a measure of preventing the spread of the ebola disease through public awareness Undertook over 12 media outreaches in collaboration with WASH Media Organized 7 public campaigns e.g. street/ market campaigns using vehicle and PA systems on the prevention of Ebola

7 Community Social Mobilization Kenema Kenema

8 Lessons Learnt Ebola survivors and people from quarantine homes/communities continue to face increased discrimination, marginalization and neglect from other community members. Power relations among stakeholders in the Ebola response process in some chiefdoms/communities have served to undermine timely response actions and created unhealthy tensions between citizens who have taken sides. Cultural practices and traditions greatly undermined the effectiveness of the joint EVD interventions in especially culturally-sensitive communities and districts. Communities can be resilient in emergencies when they are provided the needed tools to cope and respond by way of preparedness. Therefore Peace consolidation and enhancement can be greatly challenged in health emergencies where response strategies are not people-driven Civil society institutions can be of vital essence in restoring citizen s confidence in the health system in the sense that reaching out to communities with the messages that are needed to roll back the spread of Ebola can be better done in collaboration with civil society.

9 Social Mobilization Pillar Meetings Bonthe District

10 Social Mobilization - Pujehun

11 Response Taskforce Planning and Dissemination Meeting Western Area Urban

12 Aberdeen Ebola Crisis Outreach:

13 Challenges DFPs access to hard-to-reach communities without motorbikes Insufficient IEC materials for distribution. Under-budgeted support to media outreach (TV/Radio) Delays at Holding Centers also contributed to suspected Ebola patients escaping while others die. Absence of testing centers in the various chiefdoms and districts was a burning challenge especially looking at the length of time results normally takes to get back. Recent ease of quarantine and inter-district travel restrictions has greatly challenged the full implementation of the Community Bye-Laws as compliance is now hugely compromised even at the national level. Mainstreaming CHWs in the entire response has been very low.

14 Recommendations Scale up BCC/safer hygiene practice interventions at community levels Support WASH-Net district coordinators/focal points with mobility to effectively reach out Sustained media outreach and awareness

15 Thank You Going Beyond the comfort zone