By Mustapha Sesay
An initiative aimed at reintegrating some 800 people who took part in burial of Ebola victims have been unveiled.
The United Nations Development Programme and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) will jointly implement the 12-month post-Ebola project that also caters for infection control and prevention volunteers who worked with the Sierra Leone Red Cross.
The rehabilitation and reintegration process involves provision of psychosocial counselling, vocational and skills training for the beneficiaries, to enable them access economic and livelihood opportunities.
The project will cost USD 1, 975, 639, a statement from the UNDP country office in Freetown, sent to Politico, reveals. It notes that initially about 800 Red Cross frontline responders of the more than 2,300 active volunteers will be targeted.
“These Red Cross Safe and Dignified Burial team volunteers come from myriad of backgrounds and geographic areas, including students and unemployed youths. They were at the forefront in the Ebola response and were instrumental in halting the spread of Ebola in Sierra Leone, but suffered great psychological stress and stigma from their work,” the statement reads.
Moulaye Camara, the Head of Delegation for IFRC in Sierra Leone, was quoted saying the project would mainly target Kono and Kenema districts, two districts among those worst affected by the epidemic.
“This is a good starting point of a long-term partnership between IFRC and UNDP, with the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society (SLRCS) which will benefit the Safe and Dignified Burial Teams, that will help us to reintegrate them in their communities after the good work they did for the past year,” he said.
UNDP Country Director, Sudipto Mukerjee says: “This is definitely a very good start. I’m delighted to be part of this historic moment for two reasons: one, the coming together of two very important bodies who have been involved in Ebola Response, and also working together in Ebola Recovery; and two, because this is the first such agreement between the two organizations. Communities need to embrace these young people as heroes of the society.”
Mr. Mukerjee said the project is the first Ebola recovery initiative that UNDP, IFRC and Sierra Leone Red Cross would be undertaking. Reintegrating Safe and Dignified Burial team members signals the end stages of the epidemic, it is important that agencies start working with communities most affected by the epidemic, he said.
As part of the Ebola response, IFRC was given the lead coordination role for Safe and Dignified Burials (SDB) at the Ebola Response Conference in Accra, convened in October 2014 by the UN.
The organization, together with its Sierra Leone chapter and its network of branches and the 800 dedicated volunteers undertook this major role in conducting safe and dignified burials and infection prevention and control.
They have been responsible for conducting approximately 50% of the safe and dignified burials in Sierra Leone under the emergency Ebola response.
UNDP was tasked by the UN Secretary-General to lead the UN’s crisis recovery work in the three hardest-hit countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. In Sierra Leone, whilst continuing to support the country’s efforts to get to zero Ebola cases, UNDP helped the government develop the country’s National Ebola Recovery Strategy.
UNDP’s own recovery action plan, titled ‘Restoring Livelihoods and Fostering Economic Recovery’ spans 18 months, and supports the country’s recovery efforts with a focus in helping rebuild the livelihoods of those most affected, strengthen the government’s capacity to restore essential services and to ensure a rapid return to a sustainable development path, while preserving and promoting peace, stability and social cohesion.
(C) Politico 13/08/15
