13Th REGIONAL MEETING of the ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY
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13th REGIONAL MEETING OF THE ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY Freetown, Sierra Leone - 22 to 24 February 2017-Presentation by Red Cross OPENING COURTESY My name is Abu Bakarr Tarawallie, I am a member of the SLRCS Senior Management Team, heading communications and humanitarian diplomacy. I bring you greetings from the Secretary General on whose behalf I stand here as proxy. Mr. Chairman, Excellences members of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps, Honourable Members of Parliaments of Member-States of the ACP-EU, respect deserving Ministers of Governments of the Republic of Sierra Leone, esteemed guests, members of the press, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the Red Cross is honoured to be considered to participate in this all important Regional Meeting of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Freetown today. BACKGROUND TO THE EVD OUTBREAK IN SIERRA LEONE The unprecedented spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa resulted in one of the most challenging public health crises in recent times. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement was part of the extensive global effort mobilized to contain the epidemic in solidarity with the affected countries and the 1 international community. At the beginning the Red Cross also had limited knowledge and expertise in dealing with the virus. With more than 10,000 Red Cross volunteers trained in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, supported by the Red Cross Red Crescent’s network of 189 National Societies worldwide, the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement has been uniquely placed to play a critical role in responding to the outbreak while fostering preparedness in at-risk countries. The EVD in West Africa was the longest and most widely spread EVD outbreak in the history of the disease, it affected more persons than previous outbreaks. The Red Cross worked with other stakeholders in the recovery activities as they reviewed their systems and learnt lessons from the outbreak. Along with other actors, the Red Cross followed the Ebola Response Framework for achieving and sustaining zero cases. The approach incorporated new developments in Ebola control from vaccines, diagnostics, response operations to survivor counselling and care, Safe and Dignified Burial (SDB) and disinfection of houses. The Ebola outbreak became a public health, humanitarian and socioeconomic crisis with a devastating impact on families, communities and affected countries. Through coordination with other Partners in the recovery phase, the Red Cross recognised the strengths of others, and the need to work in partnership to avoid duplication of 2 resources. Together with partners, the Red Cross continues to engage to re-establish the services, systems and infrastructure which have been devastated in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The Red Cross Post Ebola recovery is country-led and community-based – engaging many partners who have something to contribute; including bilateral and multilateral partners, national and international NGOs, the faith community, and the private sector. A total of 28 616 confirmed, probable and suspected cases have been reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with 11, 310 deaths towards the end of the Ebola outbreak which created a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by March 2016. Having contained the last Ebola virus outbreak in March 2016, Sierra Leone maintained heightened surveillance with testing of all reported deaths and prompt investigation and testing of all suspected cases. The Ebola emergency response faced various challenges, starting with fear, rumours, misconceptions, the delayed identification of the unprecedented scale of the epidemic, the challenges within health systems in the affected countries, the lack of knowledge of most responders on handling EVD and the lack of solidarity of other players in the international community. The recovery plans continue to focus on providing support to people affected by the outbreak. 3 The ultimate goal of post-EVD recovery plans is to re-establish the conditions for a quick return to a healthy society, with viable livelihoods, psychosocial well-being, economic growth, and overall human development. At the same time, the immediate priority is to address the effects of adverse conditions that enabled a localized epidemic to escalate into a national crisis with regional and global ramifications. Last available cumulative data are provided below for situation and prog. Indicators: Indicators Operational Countries Guinea Liberia Sierra Total Leone Cumulative cases 3,814 10,682 14,124 28,620 Cumulative health care 115 192 541 848 worker deaths Cumulative deaths 2,544 4,810 3,956 11,310 Fatality rate 66.7% 45% 28% 40.6% Trained RC volunteers 1,134 142 4,924 6,200 active in EVD operation 4 People reached through 2,428,020 2,411,220 3,561,128 8,400,368 face to face social mobilization People reached through 12,655 8,953 405,030 426,638 psychosocial support Performance indicators suggest that Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone still have variable capacity to prevent (EVD survivor programme), detect (epidemiological and laboratory surveillance) and respond to new outbreaks. SLRCS concluded the process of permitting volunteers who are benefiting from the reskilling and reintegration project to present acceptance letters especially from vocational institutions. The number of volunteers who opted for business after the initial assessment was 508 which is very high considering that only 20 proposals will be supported after the BDS course training. Continued engagement with volunteers through workshops and counselling sessions, has reduced the number from 508 t0 405. Additionally, the education stream has increased from 93 to 108 and vocational skill stream from 210 to 225. The final breakdown of SDB/IPC volunteers based on the category of streams chosen is as follows: 5 1. Continue education 108 2. Vocational training 225 3. Business development 405 4. Career Development 62 5. Total 800 A verification exercise has been completed with a total number of 73 Institutions nationwide for continued education and vocational skills. A total of 108 letters were received from volunteers who opted to continue their education and 225 letters received from volunteers who opted for vocational skills. These acceptance letters were used by the verification team members to access all the institutions. All the indicated institutions were visited and discussions held with the heads/principals/proprietors and other key staff. Verification of the institution was carried out based on the following: . Existence of the institutions . Facilities available for the institutions . Tutors for the training program . Knowledge of the institutions about the recruited beneficiaries . Availability of training spaces . Recognition of the institution by the central government and other agencies 6 . Type of certificates presented to graduands. Ongoing follow-up visits are made to volunteers in need of special attention such as those experiencing sleeping difficulties, stigmatization, family pressure and conflict in all districts. Full details of statistical data are available in the office. Individual and group counselling sessions were organised in 10 branches for SDB/IPC volunteers to guide them away from their traumatised state and to progress with their lives and successfully go through their livelihood activities for those who have started and are waiting for payment of their fees. These activities are ongoing as ‘de-traumatization’ is a process that takes time to completely move people to their normal lives. On-going sensitizations sessions in eight communities from eight district headquarter towns have been organised on stigmatization especially for Ebola response workers, survivors and Ebola affected communities, proper hand washing, and community services such as cleaning campaigns. Coordination meetings are been attended at district level and updates of activities are shared. One survivor was also referred to a government hospital for specialised treatment in Freetown. EVD EMERGENCY OPERATIONS IN SIERRA LEONE Sierra Leone Red Cross Society started participation in the Ebola Virus Disease Emergency Operations in 2014, after the declaration of its outbreak 7 by Government, instituting proportional preparedness, vigilance and appropriate action. As an auxiliary to the Government of Sierra Leone, the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society accepted to participate in the response through all the pillars established including Safe and Dignified Burial activities. By the way, the Red Cross was the only organisation that participated in all the pillars of intervention during the Ebola Virus outbreak in Sierra Leone and covered all the districts of the country. About 1400, volunteers were engaged in the community engagement activities (Psycho-Social Support, Social Mobilization and Contact Tracing), while 540 volunteers were engaged in the Safe and Dignified Burial activities. The presence of these volunteers was felt all over the country. Sierra Leone Red Cross was co-chair of the Burial pillar team at the Emergency Operational Centre. Social mobilization volunteers conducted awareness raising at community level with other partners. PSS and contact tracing volunteers were engaged in rendering psychological support to community members, survivors and their relatives. The community engagement volunteers participated in all health related campaigns ranging from birth registration, polio immunization campaign, 8 distribution of bed nets, identification