The importance of community involvement in tackling Ebola | Letter
Your article (Agencies plead for ceasefire as fresh Ebola epidemic spirals out of control in DRC, 15 May) brings home how essential community involvement and participation is in responding to outbreaks such as Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. When such crises emerge, a trusting relationship between responders and affected community members makes a vital difference to whether the response is effective. As shown in DRC, trust is not a given, which is one of the reasons why community engagement - involving local people in the development of the response from the very start - is so important. In conflict zones this is more difficult than in other emergencies, and yet even more important.
This also holds true when conducting research during an outbreak - an essential part of the emergency response, as shown by the way research in the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa led to the vaccine available in the current outbreak in DRC. Social science research is an essential part of any emergency response to understand how the response should best be tailored to local circumstances.
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