HIGHLIGHTS
There are no new cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Liberia. As of 4 August 2015, 12 days have passed since the last case was discharged. There are no remaining contacts under follow up.
UNICEF remains a key player in Liberia’s Ebola response efforts and is co-leading the WASH, psychosocial support services (PSS) and social mobilization pillars of the response.
UNICEF’s PSS team continues to be a key member on the emergency response teams in Margibi and Montserrado counties. UNICEF co-facilitated the coordination to provide PSS to the families under precautionary observation, as well as communities affected. The PSS response supported families experiencing fear and loss to better cope, and has been instrumental in supporting families follow safe protocols, such as going to the Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) when symptomatic.
In response to the recent outbreak, UNICEF has provided 4,962 household hygiene kits to every household in the hotspot and surrounding communities. Through these kits, households will be able to practise safe hand washing and have access to safe drinking water through use of a Water Guard that is provided as part of the kit. Safe drinking water has also been provided to households under precautionary observation. In order to enable hand washing, temperature checks and isolation during the rainy season, and with support from UNICEF, shelters at three checkpoints in Margibi County were set up and handed over to the County Health Team (CHT).
The Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on how to respond to future EVD outbreaks were drafted and shared with Education Cluster members for review.
These are steps to be taken in the event of an outbreak.UNICEF participated in county consultative meetings in Montserrado, Sinoe and Grand Cape Mount counties regarding reporting of deaths and safe and dignified burials. Similar meetings will be facilitated in other counties. 455 general Community Health Volunteers (gCHVs) have received refresher training in the last week on the provision of integrated community case management (iCCM) services in the three counties. Additional materials on recognition of Ebola signs/symptoms and the revised management protocols have been incorporated in all trainings for health workers.
The closure of health facilities and limited health services due to the Ebola outbreak disrupted birth registrations in Liberia, leaving thousands of children without citizenship and in danger of being trafficked or illegally adopted. UNICEF is supporting the government to clear this backlog by providing the necessary resources for mobile teams to go from county to county to register these children and issue them birth certificates. So far, over 12,000 certificates have been issued to children previously missed.