USG Humanitarian Assistance to EVD Outbreak Response to Date in FY 2014 & FY 2015

In Guinea, the USG Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) provided logistical support to the government, including the delivery of vehicles for patient and specimen transport. DART staff also conducted presentations on infection prevention and control and social mobilization for medical personnel affiliated with the USG-funded Centre Medical Esperance de Nzau. In Liberia, EVD transmission rates continued to follow a downward trend in some areas, but the government reported that approximately 50 percent of current cases remained concentrated in the capital city of Monrovia and surrounding areas of Montserrado County. The government underscored the need for robust response activities, including contact tracing and case investigation, in Montserrado. With technical support from the DART, the government developed an operational plan to strengthen county-level coordination and expand key activities. The 30-bed Community Care Center (CCC) in Dolo town, Margibi County, received a total of five patients since opening on November 14. The facility, operated by Save the Children, released or referred four patients to other health facilities, and one suspected case remained in isolation awaiting EVD test results. In the coming weeks, Save the Children plans to increase social mobilization efforts to improve community awareness of the CCC and coordinate with the Kakata ETU to ensure smooth patient transport and management of referred cases. In Sierra Leone, health actors confirmed more than 530 new EVD cases between November 10 and 16, including nearly 170 cases in the capital city of Freetown. Transmission remained persistent and elevated across Sierra Leone, except for southeastern areas of the country. Robust response efforts had decreased the number of new EVD cases in Eastern Province, with Kailahun and Kenema districts showing significant reductions. The USG provided significant humanitarian assistance to the EVD outbreak response, with a total of $703,550,304 committed to date in FY 2014 and FY 2015. USAID/OFDA provided $315,830,775, while USAID/FFP contributed $34,769,529. The US Department of Defense provided $283,300,000, and the CDC contributed $43,492,000. The USG assistance to the West Africa EVD outbreak response included the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE), with two shipments containing approximately 107,000 PPE sets arriving in Monrovia on November 21 and November 28. The USG also provided funding to support the provision of medicines and medical supplies to 20 ETUs and 65 CCCs in Liberia over the next nine months. USAID/OFDA provided more than $38 million in new funding to UNICEF for this purpose. The USG DART worked with WHO and the Liberian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to ensure the kits reached health care facilities throughout Liberia.