In mid-October, a World Health Organization infectious diseases expert reported the death rate due to Ebola in West Africa had climbed to 70 percent, higher than previous estimates. And by December, new cases were predicted to hit 10,000 a week.
For front-line medical workers, the projections couldn’t have been grimmer. They were overwhelmed and their numbers dwindling — Médecins Sans Frontières had already lost nine staff members to the epidemic — but reinforcements remained sparse.
For organizations involved in communication and awareness-raising campaigns, meanwhile, this situation meant they needed to be more aggressive and robust, and their messaging fool-proof.