Using Triggering to Stop an Epidemic: Abstract

"CLEA [Community Led Ebola Action] starts by ‘triggering’ people to undertake an appraisal and analysis of the outbreak; its current effects; and the likely future impacts if no action is taken."

The focus of this Social Mobilisation Action Consortium (SMAC) presentation for the International SBCC Summit 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 8-10, is on Ebola prevention, in Sierra Leone.

From the abstract:
"In September/October 2014, it was clear that social mobilization efforts to combat Ebola in Sierra Leone were insufficient to change behaviour. There was little focus on Ebola prevention and public messaging was untargeted, insufficient and uncoordinated. This created space for rumours – 97 percent of people knew Ebola existed, but 42 percent believed bathing in salt and water was protective. Publication of a knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey by Focus1000 in August 2014 began the process of an evidence-based SBCC strategy, focused on deep community-level engagement with complementary and concurrent radio and influential person messaging. The Social Mobilisation Action Consortium (SMAC) was established to implement this strategy, consisting of five agencies and their respective networks. The SBCC programme was facilitated by 2,558 Community Mobilisers (CM), 1,989 religious leaders, 36 radio stations and roving teams of CMs in high transmission districts. The CMs worked directly with communities using the Community Led Ebola Action (CLEA) approach, developed by GOAL and Restless Development. CLEA draws on successful examples of community participation, Participatory Learning and Action and Participatory Rural Appraisal. In particular, CLEA builds on the lessons and experience of CLTS, a participatory approach to sanitation improvement. CLEA starts by ‘triggering’ people to undertake an appraisal and analysis of the outbreak; its current effects; and the likely future impacts if no action is taken.

Key Highlights:

100 percent of triggered communities developed and implemented community action plans, crude evidence suggests triggered communities did not suffer from Ebola cases and spikes at the same frequency as non-triggered communities. Additionally, prior to October (when SMAC rolled out), an estimated 50 religious leaders died of Ebola - most from touching or washing corpses. From October to June, there were fewer than five Ebola-positive religious leaders. There was also an 86 percent reduction in the stigmatisation of survivors."