A. Situation analysis
A.1 Description of the disaster
The West Africa Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak has at the time of writing resulted in 28,281 cases and 11,149 deaths mostly in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, with other cases in Nigeria, Mali and Senegal. Côte d'Ivoire, sharing porous borders with two of the most affected countries was on high alert since the citizens of these countries move frequently and freely, not only on a family and social basis but also due to Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), conventions and economic trade. During the height of the outbreak, public health experts called for increased efforts and vigilance since it was crucial that humanitarian actors-- including Red Cross volunteers-- put in place rigorous surveillance and prevention measures and maintain all control and response measures in place.
On 16 April 2015, IFRC released CHF 360,000 from the Ebola Preparedness Fund (EPF) supported by an earmarked contribution of the Netherlands Red Cross to support the Côte d’Ivoire Red Cross (CIRC) to implement EVD preparedness activities and prevent infection coming from neighbouring countries.
The EPoA included a work plan with activities to be conducted between May to August 2015. These were disrupted due to events and National Society focus around the country’s election process which ultimately had repercussions on the timeframe. In the context of the previous leadership gap affecting the CIRC, more support was necessitated from the IFRC to guarantee good practices in procurement procedures, adherence to standards and financial compliance. This undoubtedly contributed to delays.
After discussions with the CIRC, it was agreed that IFRC would take the lead on procurement procedures as well all direct payments. This transition mechanism was put in place outside the usual support-based IFRC approach agreed with a National Society. A meeting was held between the IFRC West Coast Country Cluster (WCCC) in early August 2015 between the technical teams of the CIRC and IFRC (Finance Delegate, Operations Coordinator Delegate, DM Officer, Logistics Officer including the CIRC Head of Programmes, Head of Projects and Finance Officer) to address any issues resulting from this set up. A new activity schedule was jointly established to reach the expected outcomes within the remaining timeframe. Finances were also availed to the National Society in September to enable the activities to be implemented.
Recent nomination of a new President has largely closed the leadership gap. While CIRC is still undergoing some internal structural and organizational restructuring, the jointly agreed roles and responsibilities and priorities can now be achieved within the extended implementation timeframe of 31 March 2016. Netherlands Red Cross, as principle donor funding the project has been informed of this extension.
Revised Gantt charts have been included in this document to properly document the new organization of the activities. Despite the delays since the establishment of the EPoA, and based on the analysis of relevant IFRC technical advisors, the activities planned in the EPoA remain relevant and appropriate.
Additionally, the section below on “Needs analysis and scenario planning” takes into account the scenario in which the recent presidential elections may create future unrest, with implications on the cross-border prevention measures with other affected countries. The CIRC, supported by the IFRC West Coast Country Cluster will monitor the evolving situation, and provide regular communication to the IFRC Ebola Coordination Team to ensure that mitigating actions can be taken as required.