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Research paper
Interrupting the balance: reconsidering the complexities of conflict in South Sudan
By the start of 2014, violent conflict had erupted across much of South Sudan following initial violence in Juba on 15 December 2013. The speed with which the fighting has spread raises questions regarding the impact of national-level politics on…
Research paper
When kleptocracy becomes insolvent: Brute causes of the civil war in South Sudan
South Sudan obtained independence in July 2011 as a kleptocracy – a militarized, corrupt neo-patrimonial system of governance. By the time of independence, the South Sudanese “political marketplace” was so expensive that the country’s comparatively copious revenue was consumed by…
Research paper
Rethinking access to land and violence in post-war cities: reflections from Juba, Southern Sudan
It is often assumed that violence diminishes after civil war. In fact, urban areas can turn highly violent. The new forms of violence that can emerge are widespread but poorly understood and have been attributed to a range of factors…
Research paper
Motherhood and Social Repair after War and Displacement in Northern Uganda
This article considers the relationship between processes of return after mass displacement, and social repair. We look to the everyday as a space of negotiation and renegotiation of social relationships that make life meaningful. The article considers these propositions in…
Policy document
Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in The Republic Of South Sudan (R-ARCSS)
This peace agreement, the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), was finalized in September 2018, and marked an attempt to quell violent conflict in South Sudan, and ushered in a ‘transitional…
HIV, embodied secrets, and intimate labour in northern Nigeria
This article explores how HIV-positive women manage secrets through the use of their bodies. Women conspicuously enhance their beauty in an attempt to defend themselves against the violence of social exclusion.
Research paper
Rewriting abortion: deploying medical records in jurisdictional negotiation over a forbidden practice in Senegal
This study explores how medical providers deploy medical records in boundary work over the treatment of complications of spontaneous and induced abortion in Senegal, where induced abortion is prohibited under any circumstance.
Field notes
“Wise people” help to fight Ebola in remote villages
“We are your brothers and sisters, we could never lie to you” says 60-year-old Marianne, as she walks from her motorbike towards a group of angry people in village Katkama. She opens her hand and offers a cola nut and…
Briefing
Anthropology & Ebola Clinical Research
The Working Group on Clinial Trials coordinated by the Ebola Response Anthropology Platform has produced a working document which considers the clinical trials that are planned as part of the Ebola outbreak response from a sociological and anthropological perspective. The document develops…
Briefing
Attitudes towards Ebola related funerary practices and memorialization in urban Liberia
This briefing summarises the attitudes of Monrovia community leaders and residents towards cremation, mass burials, memorialization, and remembrance ceremonies based on data collected between August – September 2014.
Research paper
Briefing: Ebola – myths, realities, and structural violence
The scale of West Africa’s Ebola epidemic has been attributed to the weak health systems of affected countries, their lack of resources, the mobility of communities and their inexperience in dealing with Ebola. This briefing for African Affairs argues that…
Policy document
Care and Burial Practices in Urban Sierra Leone
Funeral practices in Freetown are varied with differences between typical Muslim and Christian practices. Muslims typically bury the body the same day, or the day after, the death, whereas Christians might wait for up to several weeks while arrangements are…
Field notes
Community-based reports of co-morbidity, co-mortality, and health-seeking behaviors in four Monrovia communities during the West African Ebola epidemic
This working paper reports on a study to collect data on co-morbidity and co-mortality among urban Liberian populations during the Ebola epidemic from September to October 2014. Particular attention is paid to how local communities defined their symptoms and sicknesses,…
Briefing
Do Funerals Spread Ebola?
Some attention has been paid to the alleged role of funerals in spreading Ebola Virus Disease in Upper West Africa. This has led to attempts to control funerals, causing both distress and active resistance. Critical examination of the role of…
Briefing
Ebola Survivors: using a stepwise re-integration process to establish social contracts between survivors and their home communities
We propose that the point of discharge of someone who has survived Ebola virus disease (EVD) should become a staged transition back into the community, linked to a social contract that ties targeted support to adherence to infection control practices.…
Blog
Ebola: failures, flashpoints and focus
As the worst Ebola epidemic on record shows no signs of abating in West Africa, fear and ignorance are increasingly said to be playing a role in its continued spread. Meanwhile, local practices such as the consumption of bushmeat and deforestation are the go-to explanations…
Blog
Ebola: The Challenges: Event summary of roundtable held as part of African Studies Association Conference 2014
Held as part of the African Studies Association conference 2014, Ebola: The Challenges united an esteemed panel of speakers to discuss ways in which academia can mobilise to support those effected by the ebola outbreak.
Briefing
Field situation: How to conduct safe and dignified burial of a patient who has died from suspected or confirmed Ebola virus disease.
WHO has developed a protocol to provide information on the safe management of burial of patients who died from suspected or confirmed Ebola virus disease. These measures should be applied not only by medical personnel but by anyone involved in the management of…
Briefing
Identifying and Enrolling Survivors to Donate Blood
Survivors are rapidly becoming a strategic population for the Ebola Outbreak response. The public health potential of this group appear to be manifold—from safe burials and the care for orphan children to community outreach and the donation of blood for…
Briefing
Increasing early presentation to ECU through improving care
Current Ebola epidemic control policy in Sierra Leone focuses on (a) triage and isolation in decentralised, ideally community-based Ebola Care Units (ECUs), leading to (b) transfer to Ebola treatment units (ETUs) for those diagnosed as positive. Increasing early presentation to ECUs…
Research paper
Infectious disease: Tough choices to reduce Ebola transmission
Christopher J. M. Whitty and colleagues explain why the United Kingdom is funding many small community centres to isolate suspected cases in Sierra Leone. The UK government is leading the international response to Ebola in Sierra Leone, providing technical, financial…
Briefing
Liberia: handling of bodies and national memorials – community perceptions from Monrovia
This brief summarises attitudes of community leaders and residents in and around Monrovia. It is intended to provide an evidence-base to support the SOP on safe and dignified burials, and to contribute to ongoing discussions about mass-graves and national memorials.…
Briefing
Local beliefs and behaviour change for preventing Ebola in Sierra Leone
‘The Ebola epidemic ravaging parts of West Africa is the most severe acute public health emergency seen in modern times. Never before in recorded history has a biosafety level four pathogen infected so many people so quickly, over such a…
Briefing
Mobilising informal health workers for the Ebola response: potential and programme considerations
Informal health workers are important care providers in the region and continue to be so during the current Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak. Many are well respected and trusted members of the community who can mobilise large numbers of people…
Briefing
Mobilising youth for Ebola education: Sierra Leone and Liberia
This brief summarises some key considerations about mobilising youth and youth groups in the Ebola response in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The details have been collated from suggestions and insights provided by networks of anthropologists in the UK and US…
Briefing
Sierra Leone: Gift giving during initial community consultations
This brief summarises appropriate gift giving during initial community consultations in Sierra Leone. It is intended to provide an overview of good practices to support UNICEF, the WHO and other agencies as they interact with Paramount Chiefs prior the implementation…
Research paper
Social Pathways for Ebola Virus Disease in Rural Sierra Leone, and some Implications for Containment
The current outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in Upper West Africa is the largest ever recorded. Molecular evidence suggests spread has been almost exclusively through human-to-human contact. Social factors are thus clearly important to understand the epidemic and ways in…
Field notes
Summary of Discussions of the Ethics Working Group on Ethical issues related to study design for trials on therapeutics for Ebola Virus Disease
The first round of trials on novel therapeutics for Ebola are set to begin imminently. Members of the Ebola Response Anthropology Platform, Ann Kelly and Clare Chandler, represented the Platform by participating in the WHO Ethics Working Group meetings in…
Briefing
The AAA/Wenner-Gren Ebola Emergency Response Workshop
As of November 4, 2014, the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa is confirmed to have infected 13,268 individuals, with 4,960 total deaths estimated. The global Ebola response is evolving rapidly, and as it has evolved, it has become increasingly apparent…
Research paper
Understanding why ebola deaths occur at home in urban Montserrado County, Liberia
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) home deaths occur as the result of infected persons not being detected early and sent to Ebola Treatment Units (ETU) where they can access care and have an improved chance of survival. From a public health…
Field notes
Woman saves three relatives from Ebola
It can be exhausting nursing a child through a nasty bout with the flu, so imagine how 22-year-old Fatu Kekula felt nursing her entire family through Ebola. Her father. Her mother. Her sister. Her cousin. Fatu took care of them…
Evidence review
A systematic review of public health emergency operations centres (EOC)
This systematic review examined peer-reviewed and grey literature to document global best practices for effective public health emergency response by EOC.
Research paper
IDSR as a platform for implementing IHR in African countries
Of the 46 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) African region (AFRO), 43 are implementing Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) guidelines to improve their abilities to detect, confirm, and respond to high priority communicable and non-communicable diseases. IDSR…
Evidence review
Natural Disasters, Armed Conflict, and Public Health
The effects of armed conflict and natural disasters on global public health are widespread. Much progress has been made in the technical quality, normative coherence, and efficiency of the health care response. But action after the fact remains insufficient. In…
Evidence review
How Sure Are You? Judging Quality and Usability of Data Collected during Rapid Needs Assessments
The objective of this technical brief is to provide guidance on how you could assess the quality of information used as evidence for decision making during humanitarian needs assessments. It aims to assist analysts in understanding the distinction between sources…
Briefing
Scenario Development
A scenario projects alternative ways in which a situation might evolve. It is a set of informed assumptions about a situation that may require humanitarian action. Building scenarios involves speculating about an uncertain future and envisaging different possible outcomes for…
