Ebola Response in Western Guinea

The project focuses on improving hygiene through a program distributing soap and sanitary kits as part of campaigns promoting best practices. The program distributed 900,000 soap bars to 50,000 households that had received handwashing kits through CECI’s first intervention in Boké and Boffa the year before (project led in collaboration with Relief International and financed by OFDA/USAID).

Building awareness across the community was achieved through many different communication initiatives: organizing over 1,300 educational talks, broadcasting accredited
messages on community and national radio stations, interactive broadcasts, distributing leaflets and promotional material (t-shirts, caps), etc. Animations in public spaces, plays with local artists, and door-to-door visits were also organized. The solidarity caravans, which canvassed the entire targeted sector and stopped in every village, successfully sensitized over half a million people.

Aware of the cultural beliefs, behaviours, and resistance of communities in Boké and Boffa that encourage the disease’s spread (among other things, by keeping it hidden), the project adopted a culturally sensitive awareness-building approach. The project encourages communities to adopt safe funeral and burial practices, regularly wash hands with soap, and use locally crafted soap instead of Djama soap to minimize infection through physical contact. Locals are also encouraged to report all suspicious cases to health institutions.

Key indicators of the project included social mobilization and training community agents for active epidemiological monitoring.

Led in partnership with local authorities, most activities focused on creating synergies among different actors and empowering youth groups and women’s associations to lead social mobilization in the targeted prefectures, including harder-to-access areas such as the isolated islands of Boké and Boffa.

Hundreds of people were reached through capacity-building initiatives for local actors and the training of association leaders, women, youth, and teachers. Members of over 175 associations benefited from training sessions on epidemiological monitoring, hygiene, dignified and safe burial, and techniques to identify suspicious cases. Nearly 300 community facilitators and community agents who ensure surveillance of the docks were trained and now demonstrate strong social mobilization skills.