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EBOLA / SAFE BURIALS
STORY: EBOLA / SAFE BURIALS
TRT: 3.02
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 7 NOVEMBER 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE
FILE – 3 SEPTEMBER 2014, LIBERIA
1. Various shots, Dr Pierre Formenty training health workers in proper burial procedures
7 NOVEMBER 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Pierre Formenty, World Health Organization (WHO) Focal Point and Coordinator for Ebola and other Viral Zoonotic Diseases:
“ In August, September we have close to 60 percent of the transmission during were due to funerals. Now we are down to close to 20 percent which is good.”
FILE – 28 SEPTEMBER 2014, FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE
3. Various shots, medical staff putting on protective gear
7 NOVEMBER 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Pierre Formenty, World Health Organization (WHO) Focal Point and Coordinator for Ebola and other Viral Zoonotic Diseases:
“We have been in contact with Christian and Muslim churches and we have worked with them to introduce in these guidelines religious procedures that stay safe on the bio-security side, I would say on the infectious side, but propose a religious component, that permit this procedure to dignify the burial of people dying from Ebola and also give back religious rites to the family and respect the dignity of the people dying from Ebola.”
FILE – 28 SEPTEMBER 2014, FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE
5. Tracking shot, health workers in protective gear carrying a bodybag
6. Med shot, health workers loading a body onto a truck
7 NOVEMBER 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Pierre Formenty, World Health Organization (WHO) Focal Point and Coordinator for Ebola and other Viral Zoonotic Diseases:
“They have taken into consideration the fact that we are not washing the bodies, we are not touching the bodies, and we are doing procedure that replaces these very close contacts with the deceased patients.”
FILE – 28 SEPTEMBER 2014, FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE
8. Med shot, health workers taking out a body bag from home
7 NOVEMBER 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Pierre Formenty, World Health Organization (WHO) Focal Point and Coordinator for Ebola and other Viral Zoonotic Diseases:
“So it's basically four people for handling the body who is in the body bag, it's one sprayer. O ne person is a communicator. This communicator is making the dialogue between the family and the team explaining the different step of the burial, etc. And we have also a religious representative who is part of the team, and this religious representative is also somebody who can have access to the different phone of the Imam, or the Priest in the place where you are to have them coming to be part of the burial, for example.”
FILE – 28 SEPTEMBER 2014, FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE
10. Various shots, workers burying a body
7 NOVEMBER 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Pierre Formenty, World Health Organization (WHO) Focal Point and Coordinator for Ebola and other Viral Zoonotic Diseases:
“We are helping and supervising some of the burial team and working very closely with the leader of the IFRC and the representative of the Red Cross in the three countries to ensure that they have the best information, that they have the best protocol possible. And we will continue to work with them. To be a Red Cross volunteer and to be part of burial team is a very difficult job, these people are stigmatised, ostracised, they need a lot of support, and they will need support from us, the international community.”
FILE – 28 SEPTEMBER 2014, FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE
12. Various shots, graveyard
A new WHO protocol for safe and dignified burial of people who die from Ebola virus disease emphasizes inclusion of family members and encouraging religious rites as an essential part of safe burials.
Ebola infections occur during burials when family and community members perform religious rites that require directly touching or washing the body, which still contains high levels of Ebola virus; and when family members distribute personal property of the loved one, which may be infected with the virus.
Developed by an interdisciplinary team at WHO, in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and faith-based organizations including World Council of Churches, Islamic Relief, Caritas International and World Vision, this updated protocol outlines step-by-step processes for safe and dignified burials. The protocol encourages inclusion of family and local clergy in the planning and preparation of the burial, as well as at the burial event itself, giving specific instructions for Muslim and Christian burials.
A team of medical anthropologists also contributed meaningful, safe alternatives for touching and bathing dead bodies, developed from research into the cultural significance and values of burial practices in affected countries. The research included consultations with religious leaders in affected countries to define what is meant by “dignified burial” in both the Muslim and Christian context.
The protocol also includes ways for Ebola burial teams to carry out their work safely while respecting family sensitivities. These include abstaining from wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when first meeting with the family, and asking the family if there are specific requests for managing the burial and personal effects of the deceased. As the protocol is applied in affected countries, feedback from religious leaders, communities and people managing burials will be used to update and improve the protocol.
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