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1 INTRODUCTION

The Ebola response in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea demonstrated that community engagement is critical in responding to epidemics. This was not always a guiding principle in the fight against Ebola, which initially prioritized biomedical and militarized responses. Working in partnership with communities – providing space to listen and acknowledge distinct needs – only came later in the response. Incorporating communities in different aspects of the response was partly hampered by the inflexibility of some agencies, which wanted to promote a perfect model for community engagement. Arguably, these tended to overlook the diversity within communities, and did not respond to the realities of Ebola’s spread.

During an inter-agency social mobilization workshop organized by Oxfam in September 2015, a group of practitioners and technical experts agreed that it would be best to explore diverse models of community empowerment and action that adhered to specific key principles rather than promote a fixed ‘one size fits all’ model. The group acknowledged the need for phased and flexible approaches that support communities, and for further research into the most effective ways to respond to disease outbreaks.

1.1 ABOUT THIS GUIDE

This guide is a compilation of best practices and key lessons learned through Oxfam’s experience of community engagement in the 2014–15 Ebola responses in Sierra Leone and Liberia. It provides ideas for all stages of an intervention, including the importance of assessment; principles and methods for community engagement; the challenges of scaling-up responses and changing communities’ behaviours; and reflections on how to better advocate for communities. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and input from practitioners in various agencies, as well as a literature review, this guide aims to inform public health practitioners and programme teams about the design and implementation of community-centred approaches during a disease outbreak. The lessons learned can also be applied more generally to Oxfam’s community-focused water, sanitation and health (WASH) programming.