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Nigeria

Nigeria: Ebola virus disease- Emergency Appeal n° MDRNG017

Attachments

This Emergency Appeal for a total of CHF 1,619,444 enables the IFRC to support the Nigeria Red Cross Society to deliver assistance and support to some 5,000,000 people with a focus on information and communication, education, awareness raising, social mobilization, surveillance, case identification and contact tracing and psychosocial support.

The planned response reflects the current situation and information available at this point of the evolving operation, and will be adjusted based on further developments and more detailed assessments.

The disaster and the response

28 March 2014: Confirmation of the first Ebola Virus Disease cases in Guinea
20 July 2014: A flight passenger landed in Lagos from Liberia seriously sick and was taken to a private hospital where he tested positive for Ebola dying four days later. The Federal Government of Nigeria and its partners - WHO and CDC have continued to trace those who were in the same plane with the victim and those who assisted at the airport as well as attended to him at the hospital
9 August 2014: IFRC allocates CHF 150,000 from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF)
10 August 2014: Current caseload in Nigeria stands at 10 confirmed and three suspected cases with 2 deaths.
11 August 2014: IFRC Issues Emergency appeal for CHF 1,619,444

The operational strategy Needs assessment and beneficiary selection:
Nigeria is experiencing Ebola for the first time and thus has limited knowledge of mode of transmission and preventive measures. In some places, false information about the Ebola virus is being spread therefore, there is a clear need for training of volunteers to support the Ebola operation in Nigeria. At the moment the human resource capacity is inadequate to fully support the efforts of the Federal and State governments. The doctors are currently on strike coupled with the fear of workers to attend to both confirmed and suspected cases of Ebola virus, the government is appealing for more volunteers both clinical and those that can do dissemination of information as well as conducting contact tracing. In addition, there is inadequate Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for the health workers and volunteers. To limit the spread of the outbreak, it is necessary to provide timely and accurate information to the population in Nigeria through leaflets, posters, in markets schools, to religious and community leaders.