Disaster Response

policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk - Authors: Cairns, Edmund
February 27, 2015 - ISBN: 978-1-78077-825-9

In Sierra Leone and Liberia, thousands of local people have taken part in campaigns to spread the message about how Ebola can be controlled, and millions have taken vital practical steps to prevent infection. When the last case of Ebola is eliminated, it will not only be because of medical treatment and action by governments and the international community, but because communities have been at the heart of the response. Before Ebola struck West Africa, Liberia and Sierra Leone were among the poorest countries in the world – now they are even poorer. The challenge of recovery is enormous and communities must once again be at the heart of it. Oxfam has listened to women and men in Liberia and Sierra Leone to hear their priorities for the immediate response, the recovery and beyond. This paper presents those priorities, from rebuilding shattered livelihoods and building a resilient health service, to making schools safe and free for all.

Center for Global Development - cgdev.org -by Karen A. Grépin and Amanda Glassman - February 4, 2015

. . . In a new paper out today in the BMJ, Karen investigated the level and speed of the international response to the Ebola outbreak and contrasted it with the appeals made by international leaders to curb the spread of the disease. Contrary to widespread belief, Karen finds that, overall, the level of donations to the response were actually robust: as of December 31st, 2,104 donors had pledged almost $3 billion towards controlling the epidemic. Notably, this is actually larger than the official appeals for upwards of $1.5 billion. In addition, the data used underestimate total donations, in particular those given by the World Bank, which mobilized at least $1 billion in financing to help support affected countries.