Marie Claire Therese Fwelo Mwanza, a social mobilization expert with 27 years experience at WHO, helped end 5 of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) 7 Ebola outbreaks through effective community engagement.
In 2014, Marie Claire played a role in bringing DRC’s latest Ebola outbreak to an end in 3 months. Then, she, and 60 colleagues she trained, went to Guinea to support the outbreak response there.
This working paper reports on a study to identify epidemic control priorities among 15 communities in Monrovia and Montserrado County, Liberia. Data were collected in September 2014 on the following topics: prevention, surveillance, care-giving, community-based treatment and support, networking/hotlines/calling response teams and referrals, management of corpses, quarantine and isolation, orphans, memorialization, and the need for community-based training and education.
The study also reviewed issues of fear and stigma towards Ebola victims and survivors, and support for those who have been affected by Ebola. The findings provide several models that can inform international and governmental support for community-based management of the current Ebola outbreak.