Social Mobilization and the Ebola Virus Disease in Liberia PDF Download

Author: John Perry
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0761868526
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description
The Ebola virus disease represented a grave crisis for Liberia. After many years of civil conflict its health system had been weakened and there were too few physicians and health care workers who were willing and able to deal effectively with the disease which spread far beyond Africa to Europe and the United States of America. The book offers a convenient summary of the background of the EVD crisis, and the ways it was defeated by the public who were energized by the gravity of the situation. It discusses the lessons learned, the effect of the disease on children, and the way forward for the international health care system to prepare itself better for possible future epidemics of the same scale and gravity.

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309450063
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 137

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Book Description
The most recent Ebola epidemic that began in late 2013 alerted the entire world to the gaps in infectious disease emergency preparedness and response. The regional outbreak that progressed to a significant public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) in a matter of months killed 11,310 and infected more than 28,616. While this outbreak bears some unique distinctions to past outbreaks, many characteristics remain the same and contributed to tragic loss of human life and unnecessary expenditure of capital: insufficient knowledge of the disease, its reservoirs, and its transmission; delayed prevention efforts and treatment; poor control of the disease in hospital settings; and inadequate community and international responses. Recognizing the opportunity to learn from the countless lessons of this epidemic, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop in March 2015 to discuss the challenges to successful outbreak responses at the scientific, clinical, and global health levels. Workshop participants explored the epidemic from multiple perspectives, identified important questions about Ebola that remained unanswered, and sought to apply this understanding to the broad challenges posed by Ebola and other emerging pathogens, to prevent the international community from being taken by surprise once again in the face of these threats. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Author: Tolbert Nyenswah
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421447568
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
An insider account of how an African public health leader responded to an unprecedented Ebola outbreak. Tolbert Nyenswah, LLB, MPH, DrPH, was the assistant minister of health and deputy chief medical officer in Liberia when the 2014 Ebola epidemic struck. Nyenswah, the incident manager who led the response, became known as the "Ebola Czar" for his pivotal role in combating the epidemic despite his government's lack of resources. His story underscores the public health strategies that succeeded and those that failed, highlighting important lessons in managing current and future outbreaks. In Collapse and Resiliency, Nyenswah presents an insider's view of Liberia's response to the deadly Ebola epidemic. Nyenswah describes the fascinating journey from his childhood in a rural Liberian village to leading his country's response to the deadly outbreak, providing a deeply personal account of how the epidemic was finally controlled despite a depleted health care system. Prior to the Ebola epidemic, Liberia suffered from a protracted and ruthless civil war. Despite these challenges, Nyenswah and his team fostered a coordinated, community-based crisis response. Weaving together stories of effective and ineffective practices with the lived experiences that developed his skills to manage such a high-stress program, Nyenswah details how organizations worked together and what were the best public health methods to fight the spread of the disease. Unlike many books about Ebola in West Africa, Nyenswah provides both an expert account and a local voice. His story highlights the power imbalance during cooperative projects between western and nonwestern collaborators. In the only Ebola book written by a native African, the key strategist responsible for successfully ending the epidemic, Nyenswah reflects on the impacts of war and disease on the struggle to rebuild a more resilient health system and functioning society. As the world continues to reel from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, this look at a terrifying outbreak reminds us that a well-prepared public health system cannot be taken for granted.

Author: Ibrahim Abdullah
Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.
ISBN: 1786991713
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 175

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Book Description
From 2013 to 2015, over 11,000 people across West Africa lost their lives to the deadliest outbreak of the Ebola virus in history. Crucially, this epidemic marked the first time the virus was able to spread beyond rural areas to major cities, overturning conventional assumptions about its epidemiology. With backgrounds ranging from development to disease control, the contributors to this volume - some of them based in countries affected by the Ebola epidemic - consider the underlying factors that shaped this unprecedented outbreak. While championing the heroic efforts of local communities and aid workers in halting the spread of the disease, the contributors also reveal deep structural problems in both the countries and humanitarian agencies involved, which hampered the efforts to contain the epidemic. Alarmingly, they show that little has been learned from these events, with health provision remaining underfunded and poorly equipped to deal with future outbreaks. Such issues, they argue, reflect the wider challenges we face in tackling epidemic disease in an increasingly interconnected world.

Author: Tolbert Nyenswah
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 142144755X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
"This book follows the author's journey from his youth in a small village to eventually leading an international response against the ebola outbreak of 2014"--

Author: Dorothy H. Crawford
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198759991
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
Ebola is a compelling account of the recent terrible epidemic which swept through West Africa. Why did it spread; what was the international response; what is the long-term impact; what lessons can be learned for the future? This book combines the latest scientific insights with personal accounts from medical workers.

Author: Mathilde Bourrier
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319740989
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
The conventional approach to risk communication, based on a centralized and controlled model, has led to blatant failures in the management of recent safety related events. In parallel, several cases have proved that actors not thought of as risk governance or safety management contributors may play a positive role regarding safety. Building on these two observations and bridging the gap between risk communication and safety practices leads to a new, more societal perspective on risk communication, that allows for smart risk governance and safety management. This book is Open Access under a CC-BY licence.

Author: World Health Organization
Publisher: World Health Organization
ISBN: 9241580410
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
In response to the call of the 48th World Health Assembly for a substantial revision of the International Health Regulations, this new edition of the Regulations will enter into force on June 15, 2007. The purpose and scope of the Regulations are "to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease in ways that are commensurate with and restricted to public health risks, and which avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade." The Regulations also cover certificates applicable to international travel and transport, and requirements for international ports, airports and ground crossings.

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309457688
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 139

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Book Description
Building communication capacity is a critical piece of preparing for, detecting, and responding to infectious disease threats. The International Health Regulations (IHR) establish risk communicationâ€"the real-time exchange of information, advice, and opinions between experts or officials and people who face a threat to their survival, health, and economic or social well-beingâ€"as a core capacity that World Health Organization member states must fulfill to strengthen the fight against these threats. Despite global recognition of the importance of complying with IHR, 67 percent of signatory countries report themselves as not compliant. By investing in communication capacity, public health and government officials and civil society organizations facing health crises would be prepared to provide advice, information, and reassurance to the public as well as to rapidly develop messages and community engagement activities that are coordinated and take into account social and behavioral dynamics among all sectors. To learn about current national and international efforts to develop the capacity to communicate effectively during times of infectious disease outbreaks, and to explore gaps in the research agenda that may help address communication needs to advance the field, the Forum on Microbial Threats of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a 1.5 day workshop on December 13 and 14, 2016, in Washington, DC. Participants reviewed progress and needs in strengthening communication capacity for dealing with infectious disease threats for both outbreaks and routine challenges in the United States and abroad. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Author: Sarah Dry
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136532218
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
Recent disease events such as SARS, H1N1 and avian influenza, and haemorrhagic fevers have focussed policy and public concern as never before on epidemics and so-called 'emerging infectious diseases'. Understanding and responding to these often unpredictable events have become major challenges for local, national and international bodies. All too often, responses can become restricted by implicit assumptions about who or what is to blame that may not capture the dynamics and uncertainties at play in the multi-scale interactions of people, animals and microbes. As a result, policies intended to forestall epidemics may fail, and may even further threaten health, livelihoods and human rights. The book takes a unique approach by focusing on how different policy-makers, scientists, and local populations construct alternative narratives-accounts of the causes and appropriate responses to outbreaks- about epidemics at the global, national and local level. The contrast between emergency-oriented, top-down responses to what are perceived as potentially global outbreaks and longer-term approaches to diseases, such as AIDS, which may now be considered endemic, is highlighted. Case studies-on avian influenza, SARS, obesity, H1N1 influenza, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and haemorrhagic fevers-cover a broad historical, geographical and biological range. As this book explores, it is often the most vulnerable members of a population-the poor, the social excluded and the already ill-who are likely to suffer most from epidemic diseases. At the same time, they may be less likely to benefit from responses that may be designed from a global perspective that neglects social, ecological and political conditions on the ground. This book aims to bring the focus back to these marginal populations to reveal the often unintended consequences of current policy responses to epidemics. Important implications emerge - for how epidemics are thought about and represented; for how surveillance and response is designed; and for whose knowledge and perspectives should be included. Published in association with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)