World Vision Health Expert Testifies at Senate Hearing on Ebola

Washington, DC (December 15, 2014) — Dr. E. Anne Peterson, a public health expert who recently returned from West Africa with World Vision, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. Dr. Peterson, the vice-dean of the public health program at the Ponce Health Sciences University and a research professor at George Washington University, worked with World Vision’s emergency response team in Sierra Leone to identify gaps in the response, look at faith leaders’ efforts to prevent the spread of the virus in their communities, and identify ways local partners could better connect with the interfaith Ebola response. Dr. Peterson has over 30 years’ experience in public health and preventive medicine and has lived in Africa, the United States, and Puerto Rico.

In her testimony, Dr. Peterson identified three “game changers” that would most profoundly change the course of the epidemic and its impact on the people of West Africa.

“The emphasis on stopping Ebola is correct, but there is room to work smarter,” she shared with the panel. “The three ‘game-changers’ would be: engaging and mobilizing the faith community, providing a rapid Ebola test kit to health professionals, and addressing the massive indirect impact of Ebola on the economy, society, and health of the region. Focusing on these three things would significantly help reduce transmission of Ebola and mitigate the immediate and long-term harm of the epidemic.”

Dr. Peterson joined a panel of global health and humanitarian response experts at Wednesday’s hearing, including the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; Dr. Paul Farmer (Partners in Health); Pape Gaye (IntraHealth International); and Javier Alvarez (Mercy Corps). A transcript of Dr. Peterson’s full testimony is available on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee website.

While in West Africa, Dr. Peterson spent a month comparing the public health responses in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Her research helped further World Vision’s work on improving burial practices, helping communities move from traditional rituals that often spread the virus to family and friends to conducting safe, dignified burials.

“It is estimated that up to 70 percent of new Ebola cases come from traditional burial practices,” said Dr. Peterson. “World Vision’s work to help provide communities in mourning with safe, dignified means to bury their loved ones will significantly help bring an end to this deadly disease.”

Providing safe, dignified burials is key to preventing the spread of the disease, according to the World Health Organization. With funding from the British Department for International Development (DFID), World Vision is taking a leadership role in training, equipping, and coordinating burial teams to provide burials for Ebola victims in Sierra Leone that preserve tradition, yet prevent contamination from spreading. World Vision coordinates burial teams in six districts of Sierra Leone. In November, the humanitarian organization conducted 750 safe burials.

World Vision is also training Christian and Muslim faith leaders, who are trusted sources of information in their communities, on Ebola prevention measures, using messages uniquely developed for the faith communities to understand. Better community understanding and action is essential to reducing transmission and to addressing the needs resulting from Ebola’s presence in communities. In addition to scaling up its Ebola response work, World Vision is also reprioritizing efforts in areas made worse by Ebola, including food insecurity, preventable deaths and education for children.

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Note: While in West Africa, Dr. Peterson was not in direct contact with any Ebola patients. Upon her return, she stayed in Atlanta for 21 days under voluntary monitoring despite having no restrictions on her travel, work or quarantine as determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She has since been cleared of all risk by the CDC and Georgia and Puerto Rico Departments of Health.

About World Vision:
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization conducting relief, development, and advocacy activities in its work with children, families, and their communities in nearly 100 countries to help them reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, please visit www.WorldVision.org/media-center/ or on Twitter @WorldVisionUSA.

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