Trust dynamics and Ebola treatment in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

The methods used to address the effectiveness and reach of Ebola treatment in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and the DRC will pull from a mixed methodology of comparative analysis designed to pull reported data from organizations working within the affected countries, as well as the historical and structural context of the countries. Due to time constraints, and a lack of response from NGOs, as well as the current international crisis surrounding Ebola in the DRC, interviews were not able to be held.120 The organizations that will be studied are Oxfam International, Médecins Sans Frontières, and Red Cross International. These three organizations have been involved in treating Ebola in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and the DRC. The reason these countries have been chosen is to compare the last Ebola outbreak of 2014-2015 involving Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia123 with the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This research will look at the reports of the effectiveness of their treatment procedures, the challenges faced, and the reason some procedures are more effective than others. The aim is to analyze effectiveness, to triangulate reasons why or why not a policy works, to recommend best practices, and address how these practices are affected in a conflict zone. However, one key limitation is the lack of access this research will have with the populations directly affected by Ebola. The information will come from NGOs and researchers and their understanding of the dynamics between the population and the NGOs. As a result, this paper can only suggest at possible reasons why mistrust exists between the general population and the NGOs. Many of the NGOs that have responded to the Ebola epidemics have expressed challenges from cultural interactions to structural hindrances. The challenges in the DRC are even greater as the main area of infection is a conflict zone with an intersection of identities and interests. This research hopes to realize the successes and failures in handling the West African Ebola epidemic of 2014-2015 that challenged and stretched the humanitarian aid community and to use that lens to analyze the dynamics occurring in the DRC. Using comparative analysis and mix methodology of both quantitative and qualitative data available, this study hopes to provide a greater understanding of the dynamics affecting Ebola outbreak areas and to provide possible strategies for trust building between groups and handling a humanitarian crisis in a conflict zone.