ALERT Bi-Weekly Report – July 28, 2015

The report covers the period from July 12 to July 25, 2015, and highlights the efforts of the Global Communities (GC) team in implementing community-led total sanitation (CLTS) and border surveillance activities. In Bong County, the GC team focused on increased surveillance extension to internal check/crossing points, conducting monitoring and supervising visits of border check points. The team also sponsored Community Cluster Meetings in Panta and Zota, with 472 participants attending. The County Steering Committee (CSC) visited 79 of GC CLTC-triggered communities and verified 76 to have reached ODF status. In Gbarpolu County, the GC team conducted onsite supervisory support and monitoring at 7 out of 8 border checkpoints. Weekly monitoring visits to border communities are ongoing using the community monitoring tool. Log books and screening equipment were reviewed in 13 out of 39 communities, and each community focal person received hands-on support. In Grand Cape Mount County, community surveillance focal persons collected statistics of 902 people entering into Communities in Tewor and Porkpa from both Sierra Leone and other parts of Liberia. These people went through all necessary screening procedures according to the records in the community ledgers, which were inspected during monitoring visits. The report also highlights the progress of CLTS activities in various counties, including Nimba, where five additional border communities were triggered for CLTS, bringing the total to 15. In Bain-Garr, five communities installed a total of 33 hand washing stations. GC staff and the CHT held a two-day GPS training, which included a presentation, demonstration, and practical session in the field. The report also provides data on ambulance support, burial/disinfection team support, and dead body management. The total number of burials reported from June 14 to July 11, 2015, was 266, with 142 bodies buried in Montserrado County and Disco Hill. The majority of burials took place within 24 hours of death, with 8 burials happening more than 48 hours after death. The report also provides data on the number of burials at Disco Hill, with a total of 1,530 burials reported from May 17 to July 25, 2015. The majority of burials were of males, with 1284 males and 243 females buried. The majority of burials were from the community, with 821 burials from the community and 592 from the hospital. Overall, the report highlights the progress of the ALERT project in implementing CLTS and border surveillance activities in various counties in Liberia. The report also provides data on ambulance support, burial/disinfection team support, and dead body management, highlighting the efforts of the GC team in responding to the Ebola outbreak in Liberia.