Global health and relief groups fighting Ebola in West Africa

Six months into the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak in history, the three hardest-hit countries — Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea — continued to face enormous challenges in stopping transmission and providing care for all patients. According to September reports from the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 6,600 cases of Ebola had been found, while the virus had already claimed the lives of at least 3,000 people. Unless the virus was efficiently contained and controlled, health experts predicted those numbers to double every three weeks. Despite these alarming figures, international efforts to curtail the outbreak were still largely inadequate to control the spread of the virus. In early September, the United Nations warned that the cost of fighting the Ebola epidemic and responding to mounting humanitarian needs had risen to nearly $1 billion since the first case was declared in March. But providing funds is not enough. Good outbreak control relies on a combination of interventions — such as clinical care, logistical support, proper surveillance, effective community outreach and safe burials. In this context, Devex looked at the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ operational presence maps to see which global health and relief groups are working on the ground in West Africa to help contain the epidemic. Based on these maps, we’ve compiled a list of major international nongovernmental organizations that are responding to this unprecedented outbreak, notably by deploying dedicated professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds in at least one of the three worst-affected countries. ActionAid Headquarters: Johannesburg, South Africa Founded in: 1972 ActionAid is currently active in the Ebola-hit countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. Its work focuses on sensitizing the public, doing door-to-door visits, running discussions on Ebola on local radio and organizing drama sketches as part of raising awareness about the virus. The organization also helps provide essential supplies like chlorine, disinfectants, soap and towels to health centers in several districts in Liberia. The organization is currently looking for an international program manager who will lead and support ActionAid’s emergency preparedness and response to crises, including the Ebola outbreak. Africa Development Corps Headquarters: Washington D.C., USA Founded in: 1989 Usually a strong advocate for food security, education and the fight against HIV and AIDS, Africa Development Corps' staff is now working hard to broadcast radio messages and conduct community-based training on Ebola in four Liberian counties: Lofa, Nimba, Maryland and Monrovia. Africare Headquarters: Washington, D.C., USA Founded in: 1970 Africare’s Ebola response involves a number of initiatives, including contact tracing, health worker training, health promotion and behavior change communication. It also procures and distributes protective equipment for front-line workers and medical supplies like chlorine and disinfectants. While the organization’s Ebola response is centered in Liberia, it also delivers medical supplies in Guinea and Sierra Leone. Caritas Internationalis Headquarters: Vatican City Founded in: 1897 Caritas — known in Guinea as Organisation Catholique pour la Promotion Humaine — has been actively taking part in the country’s Ebola containment efforts. As multiple teams are being deployed across Guinea to carry out door-to-door information campaigns, public health messages are also being transmitted in French and seven different local languages through radio broadcasts, community leaders, leaflets and posters. Further, some 100,000 people are said to have been kept safe from the virus thanks to OCPH’s swift distribution of soap and chlorine. Catholic Relief Services Headquarters: Baltimore, Maryland, USA Founded in: 1943 Catholic Relief Services works with its church partners in the three most-affected countries. Its response focuses on distributing fliers and fact sheets to educate the public about Ebola, training volunteers engaged in the educational campaign, and providing psychosocial support to the bereaved. In Sierra Leone, CRS also helps its partner, Caritas Freetown, to provide food to affected populations in Freetown. CAUSE Canada Headquarters: Canmore, Canada Founded in: 1984 Active in three districts of Sierra Leone — Koinadugu, Moyamba and Bombali — CAUSE Canada has focused its response to the Ebola epidemic on prevention through education. With more than 85 staff working in the field, the organization has distributed hand-washing stations to at least 300 communities, and is expected to help an additional 600 target communities. CAUSE Canada has further reached more than 240,000 beneficiaries with Ebola sensitization messages through chiefdom meetings, radio broadcasting, jingles and posters. CAUSE Canada is also working with partners to build the first isolation center in Koinadugu. ChildFund International Headquarters: Richmond, Virginia, USA Founded in: 1938 ChildFund helps raise awareness about Ebola and assists partners in setting up specialized direct care treatment facilities in Liberia. In Sierra Leone, the organization, as part of the Child Protection Cluster, assesses and registers children and families affected by Ebola, and provides psychosocial services in interim care centers set up by the Ministry of Social Welfare. The organization also helps raise awareness in Senegal to immediately curtail the possible spread of the virus. Christian Aid Headquarters: London, United Kingdom Founded in: 1945 The international organization, through its local partners, is providing medical kits and disinfectants to medical teams responding to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. Its partners have also trained close to 10,000 community health volunteers that is now doing door-to-door awareness campaigns in 10 out of 14 districts across the country. Concern Worldwide Headquarters: Dublin, Ireland Founded in: 1968 Focusing its Ebola response on Liberia and Sierra Leone, Concern Worldwide’s efforts to contain the virus involve carrying out educational campaigns through radio broadcasts and dissemination of printed materials, including posters and fact sheets. The international humanitarian organization also provides protective gear to health workers, and trains village leaders, healers and traditional birth attendants on Ebola prevention. It has set up hand-washing stations in more than 100 health centers. The organization is seeking an Ebola crisis emergency coordinator who will manage and develop Concern’s humanitarian response in Liberia. Danish Refugee Council Headquarters: Copenhagen, Denmark Founded in: 1956 The Danish Refugee Council suspended some of its programs in Liberia following the Ebola epidemic, but is currently involved in community sensitization and the provision of Ebola awareness materials in Liberia, particularly in Nimba and Montserrado counties. It is currently looking for project managers and emergency coordinators for its Ebola Prevention and Response program — implemented in partnership with other organizations — in Liberia, Guinea and Ivory Coast. The work, according to DRC, is nonmedical and will focus on “social and economic reintegration of survival and relatives of Ebola affected persons, social cohesion and protection.” Global Communities Headquarters: Silver Spring, Maryland, USA Founded in: 1952 Since August, Global Communities has been implementing the Assisting Liberians Through Education to Reduce Transmission program to support efforts to combat the Ebola virus. Under ALERT, teams are working in Monrovia, Lofa, Bong and Nimba counties to conduct community-based outreach and education to enable communities to reduce the risk of Ebola transmission and to prevent future cases. Global Communities engages local authorities, health ministries and traditional leaders in sharing information with their community to prevent the spread of Ebola and to encourage communities to practice safe and healthy hygiene and burial practices to combat the spread of the disease. The ALERT program strategy emphasizes well-trained staff as the first means of assuring and strengthening protection for vulnerable groups during program implementation, and ensuring that all burial and disinfection teams are properly trained in safe practices to protect them from infection. Global Communities also supports contact tracing efforts. Global Communities currently has positions available in Liberia. GOAL Headquarters: Dublin, Ireland Founded in: 1977 GOAL runs emergency programs in Sierra Leone and Liberia in response to the Ebola outbreak. In Sierra Leone, the organization helps construct Ebola treatment units and isolation centers, educate communities about the virus, provide psychosocial support to affected children and reintegrate survivors into society. In Liberia, meanwhile, GOAL has launched a recruitment drive to staff Ebola treatment centers. The organization is looking for medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, who are willing to be deployed on a six-month assignment. GOAL has several key positions open as well, including logistics coordinator and emergency coordinator. Healey International Relief Foundation Headquarters: Lumberton, New Jersey, USA Founded in: 2005 Healey International Relief Foundation has been working in Sierra Leone post-conflict, focusing on health care and other relief efforts. Since the outbreak, HIRF has raised close to $175,000 for the Ebola response, including for the procurement of protective wear and medical and hygiene supplies. Its staff and partners on the ground are also heavily engaged in raising awareness about the virus. IBIS Headquarters: Copenhagen, Denmark Founded in: 1970 Danish organization IBIS has donated 50,000 Danish kroner ($8,500) to the government task force on Ebola in Sierra Leone to procure protective equipment for health workers and support information dissemination campaigns. In Liberia, the organization helps provide medical supplies and equipment for MSF’s Ebola management centers in Monrovia, and has set up a 150,000 euro ($190,000) fund for Ebola-prevention projects that can be carried out by civil society partners. In addition, it has lent two of its vehicles to Medical Teams International to help monitor medical facilities and deliver medical supplies to remote communities in the country. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Founded in: 1919 The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies was among the first responders to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The federation has been working with its national societies and thousands of volunteers since March to help stem the epidemic through dead body management — which includes burial and disinfection — contact tracing and surveillance of suspected Ebola-infected people. Lately, it has started to do clinical case management in Sierra Leone, provide psychosocial support and engage in a huge awareness-raising communication campaign. As of January 2015, IFRC was working to set up an Ebola treatment center in Kenema, Sierra Leone, and was looking for a finance and administration delegate in Sierra Leone. International Medical Corps Headquarters: Los Angeles, California, USA Founded: 1984 International Medical Corps is coping with the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone and Liberia by deploying additional emergency response teams and providing critical community education and sensitization. In Sierra Leone, local teams are also working hard to ensure efficient surveillance and isolation of Ebola cases. As part of its scale-up efforts, International Medical Corps is looking to incorporate training for health care providers, traditional healers and burial teams in its activities. While staff on the ground is currently evaluating how to tailor their emergency response to meet the needs of affected populations more efficiently, the humanitarian organization recruited dozens of health care professionals and coordinators. International Rescue Committee Headquarters: New York, New York, USA Founded in: 1933 The International Rescue Committee is engaged in community sensitization activities and supports contact tracing and surveillance activities in Sierra Leone and Liberia. IRC trains government and community health workers, and engages with traditional healers who can help encourage people to go to designated health facilities. In several districts in Liberia, it distributes infection control supplies and protective equipment for health workers in 41 health facilities serving some 200,000 people. As part of its main work, IRC also ensures that Ivorian refugees living in camps in Liberia are properly aware of Ebola prevention and protection measures. As of January 2015, the organization had several openings in Liberia. Last Mile Health Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts, USA Founded: 2007 Last Mile Health — known in Liberia as Tiyatien Health — is at the forefront of the fight against Ebola in the county of Grand Gedeh, training health workers and delivering quality care to patients. To supplement Last Mile Health’s ongoing community and health center work, Partners in Health is currently coordinating the recruitment of staff. Most positions are for local nationals, but a sizable number of expatriates will also be needed to augment the response and train local teams. Médecins du Monde Headquarters: Paris, France Founded in: 1980 Médecins du Monde has been providing health care services to Liberian populations since 2003. But as Monrovia became increasingly overwhelmed by Ebola cases, the medical organization decided to start assisting the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in providing health packages and training to contain the spread of the virus in the capital city. Médecins Sans Frontières Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Founded: 1971 One of the first international groups to respond to the Ebola epidemic, MSF’s top priority is to care for infected patients. With more than 1,000 staff members operating in all three worst-hit countries, the medical organization has rehabilitated and erected several treatment centers across Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. In the meantime, MSF is also prioritizing health promotion activities — for instance relying on about 300 community health workers in Sierra Leone — and technical support for health ministries, such as is the case in Guinea. Medical Teams International Headquarters: Portland, Oregon, USA Founded in: 1979 Active in seven different counties, MTI is one of the lead health agencies fighting the spread of Ebola in Liberia. Although its core activities focus on teaching communities and health workers the basics of the virus, MTI also provides protective supplies, clinic assessments and Ebola contact tracing. Since the second wave of infections hit Liberia in May, MTI has expanded its efforts to coaching governmental health facilities meet and maintain international standards for the prevention and response to Ebola. As of January 2015, it was looking to fill several positions, both full-time and part-time, to be based in Monrovia, Liberia. Oxfam International Headquarters: Oxford, United Kingdom Founded in: 1942 In partnership with local health authorities and partners, Oxfam has been providing a large amount of disinfection equipment to surveillance, tracing and burial teams in Liberia and Sierra Leone. As already weak health care systems become increasingly overwhelmed with Ebola patients, the organization has been helping medical facilities to continue responding to other health issues, such as malaria and prenatal care. Amid growing fears that the outbreak could further spread to neighboring countries, Oxfam has also been providing protection kits and training to authorities in Senegal, Guinea Bissau and Gambia. Partners in Health Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts, USA Founded in: 1987 Leading a coalition of two grass-roots organizations — Last Mile Health in Liberia and Wellbody Alliance in Sierra Leone — Partners In Health provides comprehensive prevention, care and treatment to Ebola-affected groups in both countries. In addition to seeking a large number of volunteers, PIH is actively recruiting clinicians, logisticians and other health system professionals to support the community-based work of its two longtime partners. Project Concern International Headquarters: San Diego, California, USA Founded in: 1961 Project Concern International has been on the ground fighting the Ebola epidemic in Liberia since the outbreak began in March, raising public awareness, training health care workers and providing desperately needed medical supplies. PCI is working with the Ministry of Health to distribute personal protective equipment to hospitals and clinics, such as gloves, bleach, hand sanitizer and hazmat suits. As of January 2015, the organization was looking for an innovation intern at headquarters to help improve operations. It was also looking for an experienced chief of party that would lead PCI’s community mobilization efforts in the country. Plan International Headquarters: Surrey, United Kingdom Founded: 1937 With the help of local governments and national health ministries, Plan has been focusing the bulk of its efforts on raising awareness among populations and health workers in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. But the child-focused organization has also been distributing medical kits and setting up hand-washing stations at schools, health posts and other public facilities. In early September, Plan announced its decision to join forces with International Medical Corps to provide a comprehensive solution to the outbreak, with each organization drawing on its respective skills and strengths. As Plan steps up its response in all three countries, it sought several emergency experts and professionals. Save the Children Headquarters: London, United Kingdom Founded in: 1919 Active in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, Save the Children’s response across the region has mostly focused on prevention — with staff teaching hygiene measures to families and providing training to teachers, health workers and local organizations. But the organization is also involved in providing psychosocial support to survivors, as well as helping child welfare committees to ensure that no child is left unaccompanied. In a bid to further upscale its efforts, Save the Children is currently putting together a large and diversified team of managers. World Vision International Headquarters: Middlesex, United Kingdom Founded in: 1950 World Vision is supporting the design and implementation of activities and campaigns focused on raising awareness about Ebola in Sierra Leone, and has initiated strategy meetings with community leaders, who are usually regarded as trusted sources of information in their respective communities. The organization has also procured water purifiers, disinfectants such as chlorine and protective gear for health management teams in several districts across the country. In addition, it has set up an Ebola Task Force in its national and base offices that helps in the management of information and communication relating to the virus. Women’s Campaign International Headquarters: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Founded in: 1998 As an organization that helps advance women’s rights worldwide, WCI has been working with rural women in Liberia over the past five years to strengthen their advocacy skills. This strong grass-roots basis has enabled the organization to jump-start an effective information campaign that reaches out to many illiterate and poor communities affected by the Ebola virus. ZOA Headquarters: Apeldoorn, Netherlands Founded in: 1973 An international organization that runs integrated programs for victims of conflict and disaster, ZOA operates in 12 communities in Liberia that have all been identified as Ebola-affected areas. Although the organization has had to cease regular activities to prevent the contamination of staff, it was often the first in those communities to raise awareness about Ebola and distribute much-needed household disinfection kits. We are constantly updating this list to make it as comprehensive as possible. If you are an international NGO that is currently working on the ground in any of the three countries worst-affected by Ebola — Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — please send us an email at news@devex.com. 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