Multinational - Crisis Response – Technical Assistance to Support Countries (Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia) Most Affected with Ebola Epidemic Project

The proposed operation involves the provision of grants totalling UA 5 million from the ADF-13 allocation of the Transition Support Facility (TSF) Pillar III resources to the Republics of Guinea (UA 1, 5 million to the Republics of Guinea (UA 1.5 million), Sierra Leone (UA 1.5 million), Liberia (UA 1.5 million), ECOWAS (UA 0.2 million) and MRU (UA 0.3 million) to train, mobilize and motivate health workers to fight Ebola. This is an innovative crisis response project aimed at addressing the institutional fragility in the region that fuelled and is exacerbated by the Ebola epidemic. The innovation stems from the use of the AU's medical personnel platform, which involves the recruitment of additional health human resources from the sub-region and the continent, in the spirit of "Africa helping Africa", to support the crisis response, and the provision of incentives for local human resource capacity, including targeted training. The project also relies on sub-regional institutions such as ECOWAS and the MRU to strengthen coordination between governments to stop the spread of the virus, create a platform for the active participation of the private sector in the fight against the epidemic, and increase public awareness and prevention measures throughout Africa, particularly in the affected region. The proposed operation identifies three mutually reinforcing components, namely: (i) mobilisation and payment of externally recruited medical personnel; (ii) provision of incentives and training for local health workers in the three affected countries; and (iii) private sector involvement and monitoring of the project at regional and country levels to ensure that there are no gaps in support, and that the resources provided to each country match its urgent needs.