Médecins Sans Frontières - The Aftermath of Ebola [INT]

Unique Identifier Code / URN MSF178247

Date taken / Date Recorded 24/10/2016 12:00 AM

Country Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone

Usage Rights (MSF) MSF Fundraising, MSF Publications, Social Media

Formal Consent Copy available no

Editor's rating ★★★★★ (C)

Video format h264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661)

Duration 3m38s

Maximum Size 1920px × 1080px 323.42 MB

Additional Information / Shotlist TRANSCRIPT AND MUSIC ATTACHED.

3 Questions on the Aftermath of Ebola

Lower thirds -
Carissa Guild
MSF Nurse

Q1 Is the Ebola outbreak that struck Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea over now?

(0:14) Yes, the transmission from the big outbreak which affected more than 28,000 people in West Africa is over. That said, we have seen periodically smaller outbreaks in each of the three countries, which have been stopped quite quickly by the Ministry of Health, with a very good response. And yes, it’s possible that another big outbreak could happen in West Africa. That said, I think the likelihood of that happening is much less, given the experience that the Ministries of Health have had, and that the communities have had in their response to Ebola. I think it’s much more likely that a big outbreak like this would happen in a different country that has not yet had experience responding to an Ebola outbreak. (0:55)

Q2 What is the long-term impact of the Ebola outbreak?

(1:00)
Yeah, there are plenty of long-term impacts in all of the three countries, from economic impacts, to schools closing, to medical schools closing for an extended period of time. When you look at Liberia, for example, before the outbreak they only had 50 doctors. And then for one or two years there’s been no doctors who’ve graduated and other doctors who’ve died during the outbreak. Clinics have shut down. Routine health care had shut down.
So HIV testing, TB program, routine immunization for children, all, if they didn’t shut down, became very much less used. Now we’re seeing in Monrovia, measles cases, just because they weren’t, there wasn’t routine vaccination during this time. We’re also seeing the psychological impact on the population and on communities.

We’re seeing PTSD and depression from these people. And it makes sense. You have one woman, and she lost many of her siblings, her husband. Now she’s there, she’s taking care of 20 kids from her family. (1:54)

Q3 What is MSF doing in helping to address some of the Ebola aftermath?

(2:01) MSF was one of the biggest actors in this response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in all three countries. Especially in the beginning, we were one of the only actors helping to support the Ministry of Health. We treated over 5,000 patients, half of which survived. It was quite a difficult time, and something we had never seen before, so at MSF we also learned quite a lot. Now what we’re doing is we’re trying to create a new guideline for hemorrhagic fever for both us, as MSF in the future, and also for other actors. They can use and we can learn from these lessons.

(2:33) We’re also working quite strongly to help find a vaccine, implementing clinical trials for one vaccine, to see if this will work. Whenever we have the opportunity, with Ministries of Health in different countries. We also have three survivor clinics, one in every country, and these were put in place because we were seeing that Ebola survivors, they have symptoms that continue after they’re cured. Namely, eye problems, generalized body pain, joint pain, aches s and pains, as well as psychological problems. These clinics will end by the end of 2016 and the survivors will be re-integrated into the normal healthcare system.

(3:12-3:16) TEXT
Two of MSF’s three survivor clinics have been closed so far.

And MSF is really there to support the Ministry of Health, to provide these services and to reboot their healthcare system, so that people have confidence again to come to the healthcare centers and to get the care that they need. (3:28)

(3:28) TEXT
MSF is working in each of the three
Ebola-affected countries to help
fill gaps in medical care.

(3:31) TEXT
In Monrovia, Liberia,
MSF teams run a pediatric hospital.

In two districts of Sierra Leone,
MSF provides maternity care.

In Conakry, Guinea, MSF treats HIV patients.

(3:35) TEXT
Photos:
Martin Zinggl/MSF
Albert Masias/MSF

Music:
"Drogue" by Salam
http://www.wmrecordings.com/releases/wm016.htm