Ebola in Sierra Leone: Leveraging Community Assets to Strengthen Preparedness and Response

Lawrence Sao Babawo; Foday Mahmoud Kamara; Esther Yei Mokuwa; Gelejimah Alfred Mokuwa; Marion Baby May Nyakoi; Paul Richards

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-92296-2_6

Ebola in Sierra Leone: Leveraging Community Assets to Strengthen Preparedness and Response

Lawrence Sao Babawo, Foday Mahmoud Kamara, Esther Yei Mokuwa, Gelejimah Alfred Mokuwa, Marion Baby May Nyakoi, Paul Richards^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

This chapter offers a summary account of the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone 2014–2015, paying particular attention to local level response. The role of social and cultural factors in both supporting and hindering medical response to the disease is discussed. Local public authority was important in determining the success of response efforts. A lesson for pandemic preparedness is that responders should focus on improving coordination at the local level. In some cases, this required local conflict resolution. An example is given where unaddressed community conflicts complicated epidemic management. Ebola, however, is a readily legible disease; local communities quickly understood how infection spread. A comparison with COVID-19 shows that infection patterns are much harder to read with the SARS Cov-2 virus. In this case, public trust will be a decisive issue.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Communication and Community Engagement in Disease Outbreaks
Subtitle of host publication	Dealing with Rights, Culture, Complexity and Context
Editors	E. Manoncourt, R. Obregon, K. Chitnis
Publisher	Springer
Pages	111-128
Number of pages	18
ISBN (Electronic)	9783030922962
ISBN (Print)	9783030922955
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92296-2_6
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2022

Keywords

Community response
COVID-19
Ebola
Public authority
Trust

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-030-92296-2_6

Cite this

Babawo, L. S., Kamara, F. M., Mokuwa, E. Y., Mokuwa, G. A., Nyakoi, M. B. M., & Richards, P. (2022). Ebola in Sierra Leone: Leveraging Community Assets to Strengthen Preparedness and Response. In E. Manoncourt, R. Obregon, & K. Chitnis (Eds.), Communication and Community Engagement in Disease Outbreaks: Dealing with Rights, Culture, Complexity and Context (pp. 111-128). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92296-2_6

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abstract = "This chapter offers a summary account of the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone 2014–2015, paying particular attention to local level response. The role of social and cultural factors in both supporting and hindering medical response to the disease is discussed. Local public authority was important in determining the success of response efforts. A lesson for pandemic preparedness is that responders should focus on improving coordination at the local level. In some cases, this required local conflict resolution. An example is given where unaddressed community conflicts complicated epidemic management. Ebola, however, is a readily legible disease; local communities quickly understood how infection spread. A comparison with COVID-19 shows that infection patterns are much harder to read with the SARS Cov-2 virus. In this case, public trust will be a decisive issue.",

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Babawo, LS, Kamara, FM, Mokuwa, EY, Mokuwa, GA, Nyakoi, MBM & Richards, P 2022, Ebola in Sierra Leone: Leveraging Community Assets to Strengthen Preparedness and Response. in E Manoncourt, R Obregon & K Chitnis (eds), Communication and Community Engagement in Disease Outbreaks: Dealing with Rights, Culture, Complexity and Context. Springer, pp. 111-128. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92296-2_6

Ebola in Sierra Leone: Leveraging Community Assets to Strengthen Preparedness and Response. / Babawo, Lawrence Sao; Kamara, Foday Mahmoud; Mokuwa, Esther Yei et al.
Communication and Community Engagement in Disease Outbreaks: Dealing with Rights, Culture, Complexity and Context. ed. / E. Manoncourt; R. Obregon; K. Chitnis. Springer, 2022. p. 111-128.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review

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AB - This chapter offers a summary account of the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone 2014–2015, paying particular attention to local level response. The role of social and cultural factors in both supporting and hindering medical response to the disease is discussed. Local public authority was important in determining the success of response efforts. A lesson for pandemic preparedness is that responders should focus on improving coordination at the local level. In some cases, this required local conflict resolution. An example is given where unaddressed community conflicts complicated epidemic management. Ebola, however, is a readily legible disease; local communities quickly understood how infection spread. A comparison with COVID-19 shows that infection patterns are much harder to read with the SARS Cov-2 virus. In this case, public trust will be a decisive issue.

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Babawo LS, Kamara FM, Mokuwa EY, Mokuwa GA, Nyakoi MBM, Richards P. Ebola in Sierra Leone: Leveraging Community Assets to Strengthen Preparedness and Response. In Manoncourt E, Obregon R, Chitnis K, editors, Communication and Community Engagement in Disease Outbreaks: Dealing with Rights, Culture, Complexity and Context. Springer. 2022. p. 111-128 doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-92296-2_6

Ebola in Sierra Leone: Leveraging Community Assets to Strengthen Preparedness and Response

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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Cite this