Prevention and Control of Ebola Virus Disease in Kankan Region, Guinea

The program began on December 1, 2014, and was scheduled to conclude on November 30, 2015. The program's primary objective was to strengthen the capacity of health facilities and community structures in the Kankan Region to prevent the transmission of Ebola virus disease (EVD) and to trace contacts in the health districts of Kankan, Siguiri, and Kouroussa. The program focused on two main sectors: health and community mobilization. In the health sector, Helen Keller International collaborated with the Regional Committee for the Fight against Ebola, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other responders to support the training of health workers in standard measures for infection prevention and control (IPC). The project supplied health centers in the three districts with protective gear, hand washing stations, chlorine, and thermo-flash devices for determining body temperature. At the community level, surveillance was strengthened through the training of vigil committees, who worked under the supervision of local partners, including the Ministry of Health and local government social services. These vigil committees conducted surveillance and informed authorities of suspicious deaths and suspect cases of EVD. Public places in villages were equipped with hand washing stations and chlorine, and counseling cards were adapted or developed to enable volunteers to conduct public awareness campaigns in their communities. The contact tracing system was also strengthened by training additional agents to track down individuals who had had contact with those infected with EVD. These agents were equipped with thermo-flash thermometers to monitor the health status of potential cases during the 21-day period of observation. Community radio was engaged to develop and broadcast programs to raise awareness about Ebola, including precautions for safe burial and stigma reduction. The program also focused on capacity building and behavior change. During the first quarter, Helen Keller International began a cascade training of health workers on the prevention of infections. The project trained 25 trainers (doctors and nurses), who then supported these trainers to train 97 providers in Kankan and Siguiri. At the school level, the project trained 24 educational advisors as trainers. The project procured hand wash kits, soap, thermo-flash devices, disposable gowns, reusable gowns, gloves, boots, and sprayers, which were distributed to health workers and communities according to a procedure determined in collaboration with health facilities and communities. Health workers and communities also defined selection criteria and recruited 150 community health workers and 30 supervisors to be trained to work in communities to raise awareness of Ebola. Monitoring and evaluation were critical components of the program. All training sessions were supervised by a team consisting of three project staff to assure training quality. A supportive supervision system was also in place to reinforce skills learned through workshop training. The supervision of the 150 community health workers was assured by 30 community supervisors, who reported regularly to health workers, the project coordinator, and his assistant. The program coordinator participated in all Ebola response coordination meetings, sharing updates on project activities and seeking input on key decisions. To date, no new cases had been identified in the target region. However, the situation was constantly changing, and the program had to adapt to these changes. Some planned activities were no longer necessary, and the program had to adjust its scope quickly in response to the changing needs.