ALERT Weekly Report – May 5, 2015

The organization took over responsibility for 100% of burials in Montserrado as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) officially phased out. A total of 215 burials were reported nationwide, including those at Disco Hill. Global Communities is developing a community-led safe burial methodology in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to be implemented at the national level. This initiative aims to transition burials back to communities as Liberia reaches and surpasses the 42-day Ebola-free mark. Activities other than DBM are focused in the bordering regions of Grand Cape Mount, Gbarpolu, Bong, Nimba, and Lofa, where the rollout of Global Communities' border surveillance plan and Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is ongoing. In Bong County, 27 newly verified Open Defecation Free (ODF) communities received celebrations with Global Communities staff, members of the Natural Leader Network, and District- and County-level officials. The County Superintendent, other Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) staff, and Global Communities' new Country Director attended one of the celebrations held in Valeyan, Salala District. In Gbarpolu, CEBS rollout activities, distribution of IPC materials, and community monitoring visits are ongoing. CEBS rollout workshops were held in three Clusters in Normon, Kungbor, and Camp Alpha with a total of 195 participants. In Grand Cape Mount, Global Communities completed training for 33 active case searchers to conduct screening at six triage centers and provided them with startup kits. CEBS activities were rolled out in 15 border communities with 15 community focal points identified and trained. The County Inspector expressed concern about secret community burials, and Global Communities is drafting a community-led safe burial approach to be implemented at the national level. In Lofa County, a four-person USAID/DART team visited and conducted a two-day monitoring visit with the Global Communities Lofa field team. The team visited two border check points in Quadu-Gboni district and three check points in Voinjama district. In Nimba County, Global Communities conducted a CEBS training for community focal persons in 21 communities and three official check points. A total of 105 participants attended the CEBS training, which was facilitated by District Health Officers (DHOs) and Global Communities staff. The organization visited 26 communities along the Guinean border to distribute IPC materials and visited the Ganta, Bololewee, and Yekepa border checkpoints to distribute materials.