Analysis of the community-led strategy adopted in the context of the preparation of the response to Ebola Virus Disease

In Côte d’Ivoire, the IRC led a large-scale Ebola response. From December 2014 to September 2015, there was a community-led strategy promoting behavior change to prevent potential Ebola outbreaks in Kabadougou-Bafing-Folon and Tonkpi regions. Communities are pivotal to the development and execution of Ebola response plans, and drivers of behavior change.

Study objectives were focused on processes, analyzing the community-led prevention strategy, documenting lessons learned from the experience, and capitalizing on the achievements. The community-led strategy was socially accepted in the villages. Even though some community leaders reported that sensitization had been, at times, constrained by a lack of equipment, the people interviewed demonstrated accurate understanding of information about prevention practices. Some practices were easily adopted, while others remained difficult to implement (e.g., ensuring safe and dignified dead body management).