ALERT Weekly Report – June 2, 2015

The country remains Ebola-free, and the organization is maintaining vigilance and promoting continued vigilance and promotion of preventative measures with beneficiaries. Border county teams are moving forward with stakeholder engagement to promote ownership of border surveillance in counties and communities. Coordination meetings are being held at the community, district, and county levels in all areas bordering Guinea and Sierra Leone to establish policies and procedures for maintaining safe border crossings and monitoring and registering informal border crossings. Global Communities is also drafting guidelines for community-led safe burials in case communities need to replace ALERT-funded burial teams. Triage units have been completed and continue to monitor all travelers passing through formal checkpoints on the Liberia-Guinea and Liberia-Sierra Leone borders. CLTS efforts continue in all border counties and districts, including pre-triggering communities, holding trigger events, training Natural Leaders, assisting communities in all phases of CLTS, and monitoring all engaged communities. The CLTS activities are closely linked to border surveillance activities, as both require coordination with the same stakeholders at the community, district, and county levels. In Bong County, a county-level meeting was held in Bheta, Yomou County, Guinea, with participation from Liberian and Guinean stakeholders. The meeting sensitized local community residents and promoted adherence to border surveillance, highlighting the roles and responsibilities of each party in the monitoring plan. Weekly community cluster meetings are ongoing in Zota and Panta-Kpaai Districts, with participation from stakeholders at the county and district levels. These meetings have led to community ownership of CLTS, with community leaders promising to spread health messages, take temperatures of people entering the community, and engage in daily temperature taking and washing hands. A total of 30 communities have been triggered in Zota and Panta-Kpaai Districts, with 14 communities triggered during the reporting period. Triggered communities have started cleaning up in and around their communities and digging pits. In Panta-Kpaai District, 12 communities were triggered, and 6 of these communities took immediate ownership and agreed to build 45 latrines. In Grand Cape Mount County, border surveillance activities continued, and Global Communities discovered 4 new communities along the border, bringing the total to 46 border communities. During the reporting period, 13,021 people traveled through formal Liberian checkpoints, and 2,721 people traveled through informal Liberian crossings. A 17-year-old from Sierra Leone was denied entry into Liberia due to a high fever. CLTS trainings were held in two districts during the reporting period: Tewor and Porkpa. 64 people participated, including natural leaders, town chiefs, commissioners, paramount chiefs, and Global Communities staff from Gbarpolu. Global Communities facilitated a visit of the National Technical Coordinating Unit to 15 border villages that the Foundation for All Ages Liberia (FAAL) had triggered previously to monitor their progress. In Gbarpolu County, border surveillance activities are ongoing in all communities. During the reporting period, 1,129 people passed through formal checkpoints, and 116 people passed between Sierra Leone and Liberia informally. CLTS activities continued in Gbarpolu, including verifying that border communities maintain their level of engagement. Community Development Promoters traveled to Kungba district to conduct pre-triggering exercises in border communities. In Lofa County, CLTS activities are ongoing, including CLTS Training of Trainers (TOT), stakeholder meetings, triggering communities, and providing ongoing monitoring of participant communities. All communities are making progress towards becoming Open Defecation Free (ODF). Global Communities has an ambulance presence of 4 vehicles in Lofa County and 4 burial teams that have also been trained in disinfection. In Nimba County, CLTS activities are ongoing, including Natural Leaders meetings, CLTS community engagement activities, and pre-triggering and triggering activities. CLTS topics were also discussed in border surveillance meetings, including efforts to remove and/or fence pigs, monitor goats and sheep for diseases, and fine community members for open defecation. During the reporting period, Global Communities conducted 7 border surveillance meetings, which included community cluster meetings, district-level meetings, and a county-level meeting.