This document was developed by the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme as a resource for the response to the Ebola Virus Disease (Ebola) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2018. It is intended to be used to guide risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) work which is central to stopping […]
West and Central Africa
111 documents
Socio-Cultural Considerations for Vaccine Introduction and Community Engagement
This brief summarises key socio-cultural issues related to the introduction of vaccine (rVSV-ZEBOV) to the DRC in relation to the Ebola outbreak, May 2018. A deeper dive should be undertaken, but given the imminent introduction of the vaccine, conveying key considerations and immediate recommendations, particularly for community engagement, has been prioritised. Informal discussions have been […]
Key Considerations: Burial, Funeral and Mourning Practices in Équateur Province, DRC
This brief summarises key socio-cultural considerations concerning events related to death, burial, funerals (rites or ceremonies), and mourning in the context of the outbreak of Ebola in the DRC, June 2018. Further participatory inquiry should be undertaken, but given ongoing transmission, conveying key considerations and immediate recommendations for safe and dignified burial practices and related […]
Rapid Qualitative Research Methods during Complex Health Emergencies: A Systematic Review of the Literature
The 2013–2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa highlighted both the successes and limitations of social science contributions to emergency response operations. An important limitation was the rapid and effective communication of study findings. A systematic review was carried out to explore how rapid qualitative methods have been used during global heath emergencies to understand which […]
Le Bon Goût de la Viande de Primate: des Interdits des Pygmées aka aux Injonctions Ecologiques
Comme dans de nombreux autres systèmes de pensée, les animaux sauvages, ici les singes, les chimpanzés et les gorilles, ne sont pas des êtres neutres : ils peuvent ne pas être seulement des gibiers, mais aussi des êtres dotés de pouvoirs bénéfiques et/ou maléfiques, animés par les esprits de la forêt qui les possèdent et […]
Preliminary Assessment of Lake Ntomba Fisheries
In May 2007, a WorldFish team traveled to the Lake Télé-Lake Ntomba Landscape in the Democratic Republic of Congo to conduct a preliminary assessment of the Lake Ntomba fishery. Primary data were collected through rapid rural assessment techniques in seven villages. Three questionnaires were delivered simultaneously in each village, focusing on (a) the fishing activities […]
UNICEF Annual Report 2016, Democratic Republic of Congo
Despite its vast physical size and abundant natural resources, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 176th out of 188 countries and territories in the 2015 Human Development Index. Child poverty is widespread and particularly concentrated in conflict-affected and hard-to-reach areas. According to a recent UNICEF […]
NGO Report on Indigenous Pygmy Peoples: Universal Periodic Review of the Democratic Republic of Congo
This alternative report has been prepared by non-governmental organisations of indigenous Pygmy peoples and their supporters: 15 non-governmental organisations that work with indigenous peoples of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Its aim is to present a picture of the situation of indigenous Pygmies. The organisations that have authored this report regret the lack of information on the […]
The Pygmy Mimic
The Pygmy mimic is an extremely persistent colonial trope that continues to inform contemporary anthropological understandings of Africa’s Pygmy populations. Mimicry is now understood as being a key component of the social reproduction of a distinct Pygmy way of being. In this paper, the author examines the historical accounts of mimicry and tries to bring […]
UNICEF Annual Report 2015, Democratic Republic of Congo
Despite noticeable progress in some dimensions of children’s rights and significant Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a challenging place for most children and their families, particularly for those living in conflict-affected and hard-to-reach areas. The national Multiple Overlapping Deprivations Analysis, conducted in 2015 with UNICEF support, revealed that 80 per cent of […]
