Rising to the Challenge: The Ebola Outbreak in Sierra Leone and How Insights Into One Nongovernmental Organization's Response Can Inform Future Core Competencies

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
Elin A Gursky

Abstract

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play a critical humanitarian role in the developing world. Over 100 NGOs currently operate in Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa that ranks 183 out of 187 in the United Nation's Human Development Index. Following a brutal 11-year war that ended in January 2002, the country has been unsuccessful at building a sufficiently resourced, robust, and anticipatory public health and medical care infrastructure. Consequently, Sierra Leone suffers from high levels of poverty, infant mortality, and limited access to safe drinking water, as well as morbidity from malnutrition, diarrheal diseases, hepatitis A, cholera, and typhoid fever. Large international NGOs such as Doctors Without Borders have attempted to fill the void left by fragile and fragmented government health services but have been overwhelmed and saturated by the continual spread of Ebola virus disease and growing numbers of cases and deaths. Smaller NGOs endeavored to assist during this crisis as well. One of them, Caritas, has actively sought public health knowledge and has applied public health principles to reduce and contain Ebola virus disease transmission. The Ebola outbreak illuminates the importance of building basic public hea...Continue Reading

References

Jan 1, 1984·Social Science & Medicine·C P MacCormack
May 6, 2014·Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness·Laura Cavanaugh
Sep 23, 2014·The New England Journal of Medicine·UNKNOWN WHO Ebola Response TeamZabulon Yoti
Oct 1, 2014·Biosecurity and Bioterrorism : Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science·Elin A GurskyGeorges C Benjamin

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Citations

Nov 8, 2016·International Journal of Infectious Diseases : IJID : Official Publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases·Rashid AnsumanaAlimuddin Zumla
Apr 12, 2017·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Clare Wenham
Apr 12, 2017·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Cordelia E M ColtartDavid L Heymann
Oct 12, 2019·Globalization and Health·Michael A StotoStella Chungong
Jul 13, 2021·Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness·Hamed SeddighiMehrab Sharifi Sedeh

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