This rapid compilation of data analyses provides a ‘stock-take’ of social science and behavioural data related to the on-going outbreak of Ebola in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces. Based on data gathered and analysed by organisations working in the Ebola response and in the region more broadly, it explores convergences and divergences between datasets and, when possible, differences by geographic area, demographic group, time period and other relevant variables. Data sources are listed at the end of the document

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) October 4, 2019 / 68(39);851–854

PLoSONE 14(9):e0223104.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223104. The survey centering on reasons behind community resistance was conducted in Butembo in November during a time of Ebola transmission. A researcher from Catholic University of Graben in Butembo and collaborators at the University of Alberta in Edmonton published their findings on Sep 26 in PLOS One. To spark focus group discussions, the researchers used an 18-item questionnaire based on similar ones used during West Africa's outbreak in Guinea, where community resistance and episodes of violence also complicated the outbreak response. Participants were a convenience sample of 670 adults from the region who were recruited by medical students at Catholic University of Graben. Those surveyed included clinicians, community members, and displaced persons.

BMJ Global Health2019;4:e001504. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2019-00150

En réponse à la réduction de l’espace humanitaire au Nord Kivu, en République démocratique du Congo (RDC), ce rapport met en lumière les pratiques des ONG opérant dans la zone, en termes de négociation d’accès. Il explore la manière dont les communautés et les Acteurs Armés Non Etatiques (AANE) perçoivent les différents intervenants humanitaires actifs dans la région et comment les ONG négocient leur accès. Sur cette base, le rapport liste des recommandations visant à améliorer l’accès humanitaire au Nord Kivu, permettant ainsi une meilleure réponse aux besoins des populations civiles

This brief summarises key considerations about the social, political and economic context of Goma in relation to the outbreak of Ebola in the DRC as of March 2019. Goma is the administrative capital of North Kivu province and a major urban centre in the Great Lakes Region. The city is home to an estimated 1.5 million people and serves as an important economic and transportation hub that links eastern Congo to the broader East African sub-region. The arrival of Ebola in Goma would substantially increase the at-risk population and heighten the potential for cross-border transmission to neighbouring countries, particularly Rwanda. This brief therefore focuses on local social and political structures that can be leveraged to promote preparedness and readiness actions

Risk of spill-over of EVD to Uganda has been categorised as very high. On 28 September 2018, WHO elevated the risk at the regional level which includes Uganda from ‘high’ to ‘very high’. Uganda has a very long and largely porous border with the DRC. High population movements across the borders occur for various reason including for trade, social activities and services and asylum. There are cross-border markets in several border districts in Uganda and DRC that involve thousands of people crossing into and out of DRC and Uganda for trade purposes several days in a week.

This brief draws out some recommendations for Ebola response actors in North Kivu. It includes lessons learned primarily from (i) historical outbreaks in Congo; (ii) outbreaks in Uganda in 2000-01 and 2012; (iii) the 2014-2016 West African epidemic; (iv) the outbreak in Equateur Province in DRC (May- July 2018), and (v) the ongoing outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces in DRC (August 2018 - ongoing). The full report can be accessed here: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/123456789/14160

The Lancet DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32092-5 Open Access