ALERT Weekly Report – June 30, 2015

The program's focus remained on promoting safe and dignified burials, border surveillance, and Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) activities. Global Communities emphasized dialogue with communities to enhance community engagement and sustain the Ebola response units. In Bong County, border surveillance activities continued with the addition of Community Event-Based Surveillance (CEBS). Global Communities staff and stakeholders participated in a one-day CEBS training sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) to discuss lessons learned during the Ebola outbreak and identify challenges and needs for enhancing and sustaining community engagement. The training resulted in improved strategies for working with communities on reporting suspected Ebola triggers and messaging for remaining safe and healthy. Monitoring and supervision of Community Surveillance Focal Persons continued in 36 communities and at three major border checkpoints along the Bong-Guinea border. Global Communities staff held weekly community cluster meetings with 244 people from 56 communities, including UNICEF staff members and delegates from neighboring Guinea communities. A one-day cross-border surveillance meeting was also held on June 25, where participants discussed the status of Ebola in both countries and strategies for moving forward, particularly in managing formal and informal crossing points. CLTS activities continued in Bong County, with monitoring in 30 triggered communities and triggering an additional 4 communities. Staff reported that the communities are making significant progress along their path to being Open Defecation Free (ODF). However, a challenge faced by the CLTS team is the overlap of other partner activities in CLTS communities, which may compromise the principle of no subsidy or external input. In Disco Hill, ALERT continued to develop additional land within the original allotment and expand the Muslim burial section. A more permanent office structure was also being built, and a fence was being installed around the original 25 acres. In Gbarpolu, border surveillance activities were ongoing, with regular cluster meetings and District-level meetings. Global Communities learned that roughly 75% of the population in Kongba goes to Sierra Leone for medical care, which is one reason for high numbers of people crossing in that district. ALERT held a CLTS Natural Leaders Training in Gbarpolu, facilitated by the County Steering Committee (CSC), and all participants indicated that they fully understood their roles and responsibilities. Global Communities staff also conducted regular monitoring and supervision for triggered communities, indicating that communities are making adequate progress through the CLTS methodology. However, some triggered communities have been making much slower progress than expected, mainly due to community members dedicating more time to livelihoods activities. In Grand Cape Mount, Global Communities continued to monitor border communities to ensure that they and the local formal crossing points are following border crossing protocol. Staff found that communities are registering travelers in their log books regularly and are monitoring travelers' health according to protocol. The formal checkpoints registered 40,789 crossings, and community focal persons registered 14,247 informal crossings during the reporting period. The ALERT program also reported on the recovery of a stolen vehicle in Rivercess County, which was recovered in Guinea through the help of the GPS tracking system installed in each vehicle. Law enforcement officials from both Liberia and Guinea assisted in the recovery and continue to support the security of Global Communities vehicles around the country. As a result, Global Communities is working with its vehicle-tracking security company to improve its geo-fencing capabilities and bring on additional security staff to better monitor the assets around the country.