Learning from the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary’s effective responses to the EVD crises in Liberia and Sierra Leone 2014-2016

The Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) epidemic which struck West Africa in 2014 presented unprecedent-ed challenges for the international humanitarian response. Learning from the successes and failures of the response effort is important for designing future crisis interventions.

Previous research on Ebola in West Africa suggested that human behaviour is a major factor in determining the spread of the disease. Understanding and influencing changes in behaviour at individual and community level can thus be an important factor in its prevention and containment.

The studies reported in this Learning Brief focus specifically on the work of the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary (MSHR) in Liberia and Sierra Leone during the Ebola crisis from 2014 to 2016. Misean Cara staff members travelled to both countries in 2016 to gather data on the Sisters’ Ebola response initiatives from multiple sources. The data sets were analysed and reports written up in 2017 (Misean Cara 2017a, 2017b). This Learning Brief synthesises the findings and conclusions from both studies.