Women are key in Ebola response

Gender imbalance

As of end-January 2019, there have been over 700 cases of Ebola in DRC, of which about two-thirds are women. Historically, Ebola tends to affect women and men at about the same rate.

In this photo, a WHO epidemiologist is using a flash thermometer to take the temperature of people in a community where there have been cases of the disease.  

Multiple factors

Beni is a city in north-east DRC that was one of the epicenters when this outbreak fist began. There continue to be cases in January 2019, though far fewer than previously. WHO and partners have worked with local communities to gain deeper understanding of factors spreading the disease, and how to address them.

They learned that in Beni, it’s generally the women who run the households. They look after the children, care for ill family members, and they are very reluctant to let the sick go outside the home for treatment because, to them, that signifies they’ve failed in their duty to look after the patient.

If a mother gets sick, she’ll hand over her children - possibly already sick too - to a neighbour who will mind them along with her own. This is one way Ebola has spread.

Women in Beni are also the chief mourners when a family member dies, weeping over the deceased and preparing the body for burial. This can also contribute to the transmission of Ebola.

Supporting information campaigns and community engagement efforts

To prevent the spread of Ebola, WHO and partners worked with women leaders from Collectif des Associations Feminines (CAF), an umbrella association of about 45 local groups, to change the perception of the disease.

These women then conducted a two-week information campaign in 30 Beni neighbourhoods, including the most dangerous and insecure.

“At the start of the outbreak, local women saw these men in jackets doing ‘Ebola business’ and thought, this doesn’t really concern us,” explains Antoinette Zawadi, CAF’s coordinator.  “Then as women leaders from Beni became involved, other women started to listen. They said, ‘OK, it’s between us now.’”

Raising awareness of infection prevention

Going door to door, the women from CAF visited 2,900 households in the first three days of the Ebola information campaign in Beni, engaging with almost 13,000 people.

In the following 12 days, they reached more than 600,000 people.

Ms Zawadi believes the efforts are paying off. “We’ve done a lot of work to sensitize people about Ebola and they have understood,” she says. “But I think outside of Beni city, in the wider district, there is more to do.”

Radio broadcast on Ebola

Twice a week, radio reporter Mama Mwatatu hosts a call-in talk show called “Women and Development” at a local radio station in Beni.

In normal times she dispenses advice on health, relationships and child-rearing. Since August 2018, however, Ebola has shaken residents and Mama Mwatatu's mostly female listeners have started inundating her with questions on Ebola. As she wasn't sure she had all the answers to the more technical questions she got in touch with WHO for assistance and is now working with the organization’s community engagement team.

Her two weekly shows expanded from 30 minutes to an hour. If any of her listeners aren’t convinced by the radio broadcasts, she follows up with visits to their prayer groups and other women’s meetings.

Containing the outbreak

The fight against Ebola is still in full swing and Julienne Anoko, a social anthropologist working for WHO, believes that strengthening the voice and involvement of women is key to containing the outbreak. 

Ms Anoko also emphasizes that it’s important for women to stay vigilant in Beni, while WHO duplicates what’s worked there with women in the new Ebola hot spots of Butembo and Komanda.

“I really want these women leaders at the senior management coordination table helping to drive the response,” she says.