Misconceptions fuel Ebola outbreak in West Africa

UNICEF is stepping up efforts to prevent further spread of the disease

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GENEVA/DAKAR, Senegal, 11 July 2014 As the Ebola-related death toll rises above 500 in West
Africa, UNICEF and its partners are expanding their activities across the region to halt the spread of
the disease by combating rumours, fears and misconceptions.

Rumours and denial are fueling the spread of Ebola and putting even more lives at risk, said
Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa. Some people still deny that
the disease is real. Others believe that it doesnt have to be treated.

With more than 850 cases reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone by the World Health
Organization (WHO), this first-ever Ebola outbreak in West Africa has become a major regional
threat, unprecedented in duration and in scale. Widespread misconception, resistance, denial and
occasional hostility in some communities are considerably complicating the humanitarian response
to contain the outbreak.

The response goes beyond medical care, Fontaine said. If we are to break the chain of Ebola
transmission, it is crucial to combat the fear surrounding it and earn the trust of communities. We
have to knock on every door, visit every market and spread the word in every church and every
mosque. To do so, we urgently need more people, more funds, more partners.

Last week in Accra, WHO convened governments from across West Africa, non-governmental
organizations, regional inter-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies to agree on a
set of joint priority actions for the first time since the beginning of the Ebola crisis.

In response, UNICEF is stepping up its efforts across seven countries Guinea, Sierra Leone,
Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali and Gambia to prevent further spread of the virus, through
mobile messaging and ongoing TV, radio and print mass traditional and non-traditional
communication campaigns. Since the outbreak was declared, UNICEF and its partners have reached
at least 5.5 million people in West Africa.

In Liberia, for example, two pop songs produced by local group Crusaders for Peace, and HIPCO
artists- Deng, SoulFresh and FA with support from UNICEF on how to prevent the spread of Ebola
are being aired on national and community radio stations across the country.

Together with its network of partners, including government authorities, WHO, Red Cross Societies
and local organizations, UNICEF also supports door-to-door activities. Prevention efforts have been
made to sensitize more communities in affected areas, including with the involvement of traditional
and religious authorities as key allies.

In Guinea and Liberia, UNICEF and its partners have also become the main provider of chlorine and
soap with more than 2 million bars of soaps and over 600,000 bottles of chlorine distributed in
households, health centers and schools since April. In addition, UNICEF teams in Ghana and Cte
dIvoire have also been put on alert.
NEWS NOTE





To further ramp up its efforts, UNICEF immediately requests US$ 2.6 million for six countries. This
funding gap is very likely to increase as national response plans in several countries are being
revised to cope with the additional number of cases and to step up prevention efforts.

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Notes to the editors
In Liberia and Sierra Leone where the Ministry of Health and World Health Organization play a
leading role in the surveillance and contact tracing, UNICEF is also involved in mass social
mobilization efforts and training of community health workers who are usually the first line of
contact with cases of Ebola in the affected districts.

Ebola is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected animals or
people. The severe, often fatal illness can be controlled through the use of recommended protective
measures in clinics and hospitals, at community gatherings, or at home. Clear, timely information
about the virus and prevention methods is vital. The movement of population across the borders is
an aggravating factor that fueled the spread of the disease from one country to another.
In Liberia, UNICEF has supported the production of two pop songs by Crusaders for Peace, and
HIPCO artistes- Deng, SoulFresh and FA on how to prevent the spread of Ebola which are
presently being aired on national and community radio stations across the country. Listen to the
songs:

https://soundcloud.com/unicef-liberia/crusaders-for-peace-ebola-song
https://soundcloud.com/unicef-liberia/hott-fm-ebola-song-liberia

About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our
partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical
action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit
of all children, everywhere. For more information about UNICEF and its work, visit: www.unicef.org
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For further information please contact:

Timothy LaRose, UNICEF Guinea, Tel. (+224) 622 350 251, tlarose@unicef.org
Carolyn Kindelan, UNICEF Liberia, Tel +231-(0)880-55-9281, cmkindelan@unicef.org
Issa A. Davies, UNICEF Sierra Leone, Tel + (232) 78 368 975, idavies@unicef.org
Laurent Duvillier, UNICEF Dakar, Tel: +221 77 740 35 77, lduvillier@unicef.org
Najwa Mekki, UNICEF New York, Tel: +1 212 326 7448, Mobile: +1 917 209
1804, nmekki@unicef.org