USAID broadens effort to correct Ebola misinformation in Liberia

DEVEX   by Molly Anders                                                                                   Jan. 26, 2015

In the scramble to reach the most remote residents of Ebola-hit Liberia, the U.S. Agency for International Development has signed on Mercy Corps, Finnish Church Aid and many other organizations to spread information about the disease to the country’s farthest-flung areas, and to correct misinformation along the way.

An Ebola response team educates a town about the disease. A social mobilization project by the U.S. Agency for International Development aims to reach more than 2 million people to correct misinformation about Ebola. Photo by: Morgana Wingard / USAID / CC BY-NC

The $12 million social mobilization project, called the Ebola Community Action Platform, aims to reach more than 2 million people in all 15 counties of Liberia through the activation of networks of nongovernmental organizations in the country. The platform began with 26 partnerships through USAID, but now comprises more than 70 organizations through the coordination of NGO consortiums that many foresee becoming standard practice in disaster response programs.

The broad reach allows organizations to train and deploy community leaders throughout Liberia in conducting face-to-face outreach, as well as broadcasting information about the disease over local radio.

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https://www.devex.com/news/usaid-broadens-effort-to-correct-ebola-misinformation-in-liberia-85342