This is the M&E Thursday Talk from Thursday, April 23rd, when Joseph Jimmy Sankaituah, Country Director of Sierra Leone and Liberia at Search for Common Ground, led a discussion on “Breaking The Silence: The Untold Truths About Ebola.”
Sierra Leone recorded its first Ebola Virus Disease (Ebola) at the end of May 2014, and by early June, there was already a burst of new cases. These initial cases were traced back to the funeral of a well-respected traditional leader, which was held in a remote village in early May. Within just a few months, the virus had taken hold of the entire country. In this webinar, Jimmy Sankaituah discussed the most likely reasons Ebola spread so rapidly throughout the population.
The most popular explanations for Ebola’s rapid spread include limited political response in the initial stages, the health sector’s limited resources, initial messaging and conflicting guidance, and a general disbelief by the population. Since similarities can be drawn between Ebola and COVID-19, Jimmy discussed how these lessons learned are being applied within Sierra Leone to improve their response to the current pandemic. We also explored how these lessons apply to our own responses to COVID-19, and how they might help us prepare for the long term consequences of this pandemic.
The presentation paused halfway through the webinar due to technical difficulties. The webinar discussion continued without slides. To access all of the slides and recommended resources can be accessed by clicking the link below.
Click here for the full presentation slides and recommended resources.