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Burundi: Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness - Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) DREF n° MDRBI015 Final Report

Attachments

A. SITUATION ANALYSIS

Description of the disaster

On 1 August 2018, just one week after the declaration of the end of the Ebola outbreak in Equator province, the 10th Ebola epidemic of the DRC was declared in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, which are among the most populated provinces in the DRC that also share borders with Uganda and Rwanda. The provinces had been experiencing intense insecurity and a worsening humanitarian crisis with over one million internally displaced people (IDPs) and a continuous influx of refugees to neighbouring countries, including Uganda Burundi and Tanzania. Population mobility, including crossborder movements, were identified as a significant risk for disease transmission in this outbreak due to the high number of traders and miners, displaced populations and insecurity caused by rebels and militias in the area (Source IOM, 15 August 2018). Potential risk factors that were identified for a further EVD expansion existed not only at national level, but also at regional level, among which:

• Transport links between the affected areas, the rest of the country, and neighbouring countries;

• Internal displacement of populations;

• Low level of knowledge around Ebola modes of transmission, especially among women (according to a KAP survey done in North-Kivu)

• Displacement of Congolese refugees to neighbouring countries, including Uganda.

Since the EVD outbreak in DRC continued to spread, WHO deployed Preparation Support Team (PST) missions to neighbouring countries of DRC to review EVD readiness and support preparedness strategies with government and other stakeholders including RC/RC National Societies. According to their risk profiles, the WHO categorized four countries i.e. Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, and Burundi as Priority-1 and remaining five countries -- Angola, Congo,
Central African Republic, Tanzania, and Zambia are Priority-2. The prioritization was done based on their capacity to manage EVD and viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) outbreaks, and their connections and proximity to the areas currently reporting EVD cases.

The RC/RC National Societies of countries surrounding the affected area in DRC have been supporting government efforts in updating EVD contingency plans and strategies in the early detection/surveillance of cross border population movement, training of volunteers to undertake typical EVD response activities related to infection, prevention and control (IPC), risk communication, social mobilization and community engagement, Safe and Dignified Burials (SDB),
Psychosocial support and National Society capacity building and preparing for future outbreaks.
The Government of Burundi does not have an EVD prevention policy but has established a National Ebola Taskforce which developed an EVD Contingency Plan. Through this taskforce Burundi Red Cross was requested to implement and lead the SDB pillar of the contingency plan as well as supporting dissemination of EVD messages through radio spots and mobile cinemas. The highest risk of a possible EVD outbreak was and still remains through entry points (by road) in the north western provinces of the country, or possibly by maritime transportation on Lake Tanganyika.
In response, the IFRC launched a DREF Operation on 02 October 2018 for an initial period of three months to enable BRCS to support the government’s preparedness plans. The operation was revised and published on 19 December 2018 through Operation Update 1, which allowed for a two-month timeframe extension of the operation to enable the NS to complete implementation of outstanding activities. The operation had been affected by the delays in procurement and delivery of Safe and Dignified Burials (SDB) Kits which only arrived in Burundi on 29 November (two months after the start of the operation). These delays affected the ability of the National Society (NS) to conduct SDB trainings.

Operation Update 2 was issued on 25 February 2019 to extend the operation for a supplementary two weeks, until 14 March 2019 and allowed for continuation and transition of activities, with the launch of the EVD One International Appeal for DRC.

The overall regional risk posed by the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo remains very high considering the chances of cross border spread. The EVD Appeal countries continue to implement precautionary and preparedness measures to mitigate against the spread of the disease. Figures as of 25 June 2019 indicate a total 2,277 cases of which 2,183 confirmed cases and 94 probable cases. In addition, some 1,531 deaths have been reported with 1,437 of them being confirmed of Ebola and 94 probably linked to the disease.

As at now, this DREF operation is ended. However, Red Cross preparedness actions for Burundi are carrying on under the EVD One International Appeal for DRC. This Appeal outlines the response and containment strategy and focuses on response activities in the DRC as well as preparedness plans in the four priority countries (Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan). To note, the World Health organization (WHO) declared the EVD outbreak in DRC a public health emergency of international concern (PHIEC) on 17 July 2019.