Crisis24's Strategic Consulting: Mitigating the Spread of Ebola in the DRC for a UK Governmental Organization

In 2019, a UK Governmental Department was looking to deploy staff to support the administration in hospitals and health clinics in the affected regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They approached Crisis24 to assist in understanding the risks posed by Ebola to their staff, what measures they should put in place, and how best to manage any exposure to infected people.

Crisis24’s Global Medical Director, who has significant specialist expertise in immunology and communicable diseases, held an initial meeting with the department to understand:

• The importance of community engagement with religious leaders, traditional healers, and others to support and promote infectious control measures
• The scope of their potential operations
• Offer some immediate information and guidance as to the likely risks and mitigation strategies
• Formulation of an infection control plan
• Vaccine protocol strategies, both for healthcare workers, administrative support, and the local population

This was followed by weekly calls to allow Crisis24 to work with the involved parties to develop the initial deployment plan, which included a Medical Emergency Response Plan, and submit it for approval to commence the build-up phase.

Crisis24’s medical team supported the client throughout the deployment, providing ongoing advice and guidance.  As the processes that Crisis24 had developed bedded in, the support became more ad hoc in response to changes or developments in the situation.  This outbreak also overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic, which enabled Crisis24 to utilize its expertise to understand better the new dynamics in the face of a global pandemic and the travel restrictions that followed and adapt the protocols accordingly.

From initial engagement through to the outbreak’s conclusion, Crisis24 supported the UK Government in successfully carrying out its mission. The client operated in the region and met their objectives with no Ebola infections among its personnel. On November 18, 2020, the DRC Ministry of Health and WHO announced that the outbreak was over.