In Béni, MSF has worked towards an integrated Ebola response, incorporating Ebola-related activities in local health centres and investing in primary and secondary healthcare, triage and isolation, hygiene and sanitation in these facilities.
The integration of the Ebola response means improving provision of care for other healthcare needs such as trauma, malaria or measles, and boosting the proximity of these services to the community.
This facilitates the early identification of suspected cases, which is key both to preventing the infection spreading and to ensuring the early provision of individualized care and specialist treatment which can significantly increase the chances of patient survival.
Integrating testing for suspect cases into the health care structures that people know and trust encourages patients to promptly report to such structures in case of Ebola-like symptoms, thereby improving the acceptance of Ebola care and reducing the number of people dying at home.
The results are so far encouraging: over the course of July, as 10% of the confirmed patients admitted to an Ebola treatment centre in Beni had been referred there from a health centre supported by MSF – this is a higher percentage than that of patients referred from dedicated Ebola transit centres.