Case Study 2

End Ebola through Community Based Surveillance and Behavior Change

In partnership with Action Against Hunger & Concern Universal Guinea

Dates of Project: August 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016

Location: Forécariah, Guinea

In February of 2016, illuminAid facilitated a Video Education Workshop for twelve Action Against Hunger (AAH) facilitators and ten Concern Universal (CU) facilitators. By the end of the workshop, participants had filmed six short videos in local communities that were related to five key messages on Ebola surveillance approved by CNLE (Cellule Nationale de Lutte contre Ebola).
The AAH and CU teams then held several Ebola sensitization sessions in February and March aimed at establishing 53 community bureaus (aimed at Ebola awareness and prevention). These community bureaus took over the organization of further sensitization sessions, which took several different forms:
  • Focus groups with community leaders: representatives of the administration, women, youth, religious, fishermen and/or farmers’ groups
  • Community action planning sessions
  • Community meetings
  • Film screenings
  • Mass sensitization outreach, including awareness sessions
These community bureaus were provided with working materials such as registry books, pens, boots, t-shirts and sensitization materials such as megaphones, batteries, hygiene kits and illuminAid mobile projector kits. The short films created in illuminAid’s workshop were then systematically screened by local community bureaus using the illuminAid mobile projector kit, which was made available for each of 53 community bureaus. Overall, community bureaus organized 1135 sensitization sessions in the project area.

Video projection and illuminAid equipment played a role in two areas of the overall project: equipping community health bureaus and video dissemination at awareness sessions and film screenings. In 323 villages, a total of 1135 community health sessions were conducted, 409 (36%) of which utilized illuminAid equipment.
The majority of end-line survey respondents stated they heard about Ebola through radio and or television (67%), through community workers (65%) and district leaders (53%). This shows the role that community workers and district leaders have played in awareness raising through social mobilization, including use of illuminAid videos and projectors. At baseline stage, radio was cited most often as a means of information. 
During the baseline survey, 61.47% of households expressed a positive opinion on the social mobilizers (community agents and social mobilizers, community bureaus). The level of satisfaction of communities with social mobilizers improved considerably with a satisfaction rate of 89.5% at end-line. In 81% of households, this positive perception was justified mainly by the community-based sensitization carried out by these structures (video projections, community meetings, and the like).