Ebola resources: where to start

2nd December 2014
Ebola boots

The unprecedented scale of the Ebola outbreak has prompted a number of online initiatives aimed at supporting the global response to the outbreak by providing access to relevant knowledge, news and other resources. This short feature highlights some of these initiatives – in particular the Ebola Response Anthropology platform, which was launched earlier this month and has taken a unique anthropological approach to the Ebola response.

The platform, coordinated by academics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), and the Universities of Sussex and Exeter, aims to “build a more locally appropriate and socially informed outbreak response by providing clear, practical, real-time advice that engages with crucial socio-cultural and political dimensions of the outbreak.”

It provides rapid responses by email, conference calls and web-based dialogues to operational questions raised by those working for NGOs, government and international agencies to contain the epidemic or care for those affected. The website also provides access to briefings and guides, background, and field notes on the topics of:
  • Identifying and diagnosing cases
  • Management of the dead
  • Caring for the sick
  • Clinical trials/research
  • Preparedness.

If you're looking for other sources of information on the Ebola outbreak and response, here are a few that we've found useful and interesting:

  • The Lancet Ebola Resource Centre: resources from The Lancet on Ebola, including updates, audio, research and editorials.
  • The Ebola Communication Network: a collection of health communication materials from a variety of sources designed to help address the spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa. 
  • WHO Ebola Virus Disease: Technical information, resources, features, situation reports and country information from the World Health Organization.
  • SciDev.Net Ebola Crisis: SciDev.Net's collection of the latest stories from Ebola-stricken countries.

Image credit: © European Commission DG ECHO, 2014