Course material

1. Catholic Distance University Humanitarian Emergency Paper
Attached.Running head: HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY1Humanitarian
EmergencyName:Course:School Affiliation:Tutor:Date:HUMANITARIAN
EMERGENCY2Humanitarian EmergencyIt is an event that takes place in a large area, thus
being a threat to the lives of the people livingand those that are currently in the location
where the event occurs (Leaning, 1999). Thesehappenings can be things like natural
disasters examples earthquakes, floods, storms, epidemics,among others. Other
emergencies can occur due to accidents such as plane crashes, conflictsbetween countries
or people of different areas, thus leading to armed fighting. These situationsaffect a lot of
people as it leads to a lot of lives lost. People displaced from their homes, or placesthey
stayed, thus affecting the whole society and country. It would lead to even the
economicactivities that took place in that area to being disrupted in that period (Leaning,
1999). Anexample of a humanitarian emergency that occurred in the West African Ebola
outbreak.West African Ebola OutbreakEbola was at first reported in Guinea in March 2014
and afterward spread to Liberia andSierra Leone. These were the worst hit as a lot of lives
were lost in these countries, and thenumbers increased drastically in just a matter of weeks.
It also spread to Senegal and Nigeria(Abdullah, 2017). The Ebola virus could be transmitted
through any contact with an infectedperson or a person who died due to the illness. Its
spread through direct contact of an infectedperson’s body that is the skin, blood, and body
fluids. The signs of infection include diarrhea,vomiting, fever, among others. A quick
response was necessary to stop the full spread of thedisease and its killing nature as at the
time; the health facilities were poorly equipped to handlethe outbreak. The World Health
Organization had to act fast in dealing with the infestation.Disaster management models.
The World Health Organization had to accomplish itsgoal of curbing the continued virus
transmission so that the areas that had not been affectedwould remain safe. They could
then help those who had been already infected (Kotsireas, 2016).HUMANITARIAN
EMERGENCY3Well-equipped Ebola treatment units in the countries were used to isolate
those who had beenaffected by the virus. Medical teams were deployed in states, especially
the areas which had beenthe worst hit by the outbreak. It minimized the continued
outbreak as the affected would beisolated and treated, thus reducing the risk of them
transmitting to the unaffected. Those that hadsuccumbed to the virus would be safely
buried, whereby their bodies could be well disposedwithout any contact with other people.
More health workers were trained on how to handle thosewho had the virus. More
temporary health centers that could deal with the virus cases werestarted to reach out to all

2. people across the affected countries.The World health organization also created public
awareness and educated the people onhow the virus spreads, action to take if one is
infected and how to deal with the other infectedpeople. The awareness led to a good
relationship between the health workers and the people aseveryone had some necessary
information on how to handle different situations henceminimizing the spread of the virus
(Kotsireas, 2016).Logistics. The World Health Organization provided maps that showed the
areas whichhad been reported to have been affected by the Ebola outbreak. The maps
showed the roads androutes medical officers and those who had been trained after the
outbreak to help them inreaching out to all the affected people in a very short period. They
would then administer to themthe medical attention they needed and also stop further
transmission of the virus. Supplies suchas medicine and protective garments for treating
and handling infected people were distributed toall areas and the available health centers
across the countries. The supplies were to ensure theywere well equipped to handle the
Ebola cases. More laboratories were also started in the affectedcountries to test and find a
cure for the virus.HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCYThe Information and communication
technology departments were used to pass anyinformation concerning how the supplies
could be distributed until they reached the placesintended. They would also be able to track
areas that needed more supplies. Those who weretraveling had to undergo screening at the
airports to ensure that they were not infected. It helpedto prevent an infected person from
leaving the country as this would lead to the spread of thevirus to the state they were
heading (Division, 2016).Political factors. The Ebola outbreak led to social unrest as the
people were afraid andneeded a quick response from the government. It made the
government be under more pressureon how it would deal with the virus and how to calm
the people. The outbreak led to somecountries’ example, Trinidad, to ban those who wanted
to travel into them from Nigeria fromdoing so after the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria. The ban
destroyed the healthy relationship thatthese two countries had before the outbreak. It also
affected people from Sierra Leone, Guineaand Liberia as they wore not allowed to travel to
Trinidad (Abdullah, 2017)The Ebola virus also brought into the limelight the poor
conditions of health facilities inLiberia and Sierra Leone. The poorly made roads made it
hard for the transportation of medicalsupplies to the people, mainly in the rural areas,
which were the worst hit by the virus. …