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. 2023 May 12:Suppl 3:113-130.
doi: 10.29245/2578-3009/2023/S3.1109.

Involvement of Civil Society Organizations and Other Community Groups in the Response to the Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in the North Kivu and Ituri Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Tieman Diarra  1 , Joseph Okeibunor  2 , Amadou Baïlo Diallo  2 , Nkechi Onyeneho  3 , Barry Rodrigue  2 , Michel N'da Konan Yao  2 , Zabulon Yoti  2 , Ibrahima Socé Fall  2
Affiliations

Involvement of Civil Society Organizations and Other Community Groups in the Response to the Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in the North Kivu and Ituri Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Tieman Diarra et al. J Immunol Sci. .

Abstract

We reviewed the involvement of civil society organizations as well as other community level organizations and structures in the response to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A total of 800 randomly selected adults were surveyed using a uniform set of structured questionnaires. An in-depth interview guide was employed to collect information from community members and religious leaders, while focus group discussions were held with community members. The results revealed some involvement of the different organizations in the communities in the response to the EVD outbreak. However, several challenges were encountered, namely security issues, poor awareness, and non-compliance to safety measures. The findings underscore that despite considerable experience over a long period with outbreaks in the DRC, people still need to be educated about the disease.

Keywords: Civil society organization; Community groups; Democratic Republic of Congo; Ebola virus disease; Outbreak; Response.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Respondents’ perceptions on the involvement of community structures and organizations in the response to the EVD threat in the DRC
Figure 2
Figure 2. Respondents’ awareness on the involvement of community groups in the EVD response activities, based on their levels of education
Figure 3
Figure 3. Distribution of respondents by perceived challenges and suggestions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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