Ebola Crisis in West Africa - Medical Personnel and Experts Deployment - Red Cross 2014

November 2014 - On August 8 2014 the World Health Organization declared the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa an international health emergency. The Ebola outbreak started in Guinea and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. There have been over 15 000 cases of Ebola virus in Guinea Liberia and Sierra Leone to date including more than 5 400 deaths. The current outbreak is unprecedented in terms of its scale geographic reach humanitarian impact as well as its social and economic repercussions. The number of cases and deaths surpass all previous Ebola epidemics combined. With DFATD’s support the Canadian Red Cross Society is helping to reduce and control the spread of the Ebola virus in Guinea Liberia and Sierra Leone by recruiting training and deploying medical personnel and emergency experts to Ebola-affected countries. Project activities include: (1) providing specialised trainings to medical personnel and emergency experts; (2) deploying medical personnel and emergency experts to affected countries; and (3) establishing an Ebola coordination cell within the Canadian Red Cross.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) medical personnel and emergency experts have the necessary knowledge to safely provide health care to Ebola-affected patients; and (2) increased number of medical personnel and emergency experts ready to be deployed to support Ebola Emergency Treatment Centres in affected countries. The expected ultimate outcome is lives saved suffering alleviated and human dignity maintained in countries experiencing humanitarian crisis or acute food insecurity.