Risking Repetition: Are We Ignoring Ebola’s Lessons?
International Rescue Committee
New York 02 Mar 2015 –
IRC report outlines significant missteps in the global response to Ebola

Over-focus on treatment, insufficient support for community-led engagement and lack of protection and support for local health workers slowed international response
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) today published a set of recommendations in response to the devastating Ebola outbreak as high-level delegates gather at the European Commission in Brussels to “take stock of the fight against the outbreak, coordinate further action for the total eradication of the disease and discuss the recovery process in the most affected countries.”

“The lesson of this crisis is that if you lose the trust of the community then you can’t run an effective health system. This is the warning we have to take on board to avoid the risk of repetition,” said IRC president and CEO, David Miliband.

The report highlights three key areas that are essential in stopping an outbreak like Ebola in the future:

:: Local Leadership is essential: Quarantines are a salient example of the essential role of local leadership. Enforced quarantines, such as the disastrous closure of the Monrovia neighborhood of West Point, served to fuel the epidemic. In contrast, self-imposed quarantines such as the ones organized in partnership between the IRC and local communities in Lofa Country played a significant role in stopping the epidemic. By and large, local leaders and volunteers were the most effective agents of change.

:: Health Care Workers Must be Paid and Properly Resourced: From Lofa County, Liberia, to Bo District in Sierra Leone the IRC heard directly from doctors and nurses who have not received a regular salary in months. When Ebola struck Liberia, health care workers had just been on strike to protest a lack of wages. With donor support, the governments of both countries must commit to paying their employees a regular and reliable salary. The ongoing response and future recovery must ensure that health care workers receive ongoing training, monitoring, mentorship and supervision.

:: Infection prevention and control across the board: Over five hundred health care workers died fighting Ebola. The IRC recognized that health care workers were putting their lives on the line to fight Ebola and instituted rigorous infection and prevention control trainings across Kenema district. It is imperative that we don’t let up. Practices put in place now must be continued and supported. These efforts need to be extended to schools and other public facilities. This is important as a means to restore the public’s trust…