THE MESSAGE: "Scouts Responding to Ebola" is a project where we try to gather all information of activities and projects Scouts are doing all over Africa and the rest of the world on responding to Ebola. If you have any information of Scouts involved in responding to Ebola please share. Understanding Ebola: Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. The average EVD case fatality rate is around 50%. Case fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks. The first EVD outbreaks occurred in remote villages in Central Africa, near tropical rainforests, but the most recent outbreak in west Africa has involved major urban as well as rural areas. Community engagement is key to successfully controlling outbreaks. Good outbreak control relies on applying a package of interventions, namely case management, surveillance and contact tracing, a good laboratory service, safe burials and social mobilization. Early supportive care with re-hydration, symptomatic treatment improves survival. There is as yet no licensed treatment proven to neutralize the virus but a range of blood, immunological and drug therapies are under development. (WHO Fact sheet N°103) Situation in West Africa: According to WHO, as of 31 August 2014, 3685 (probable, confirmed and suspected) cases and 1841 deaths have been reported in the current outbreak of Ebola virus disease by the Ministries of Health of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. In Nigeria, there have been 21 cases and 7 deaths. In Senegal, one case has been confirmed and there have been no Ebola deaths or further suspected cases. Data reported in the Disease Outbreak News are based on official information reported by Ministries of Health. These numbers are subject to change due to ongoing reclassification, retrospective investigation and availability of laboratory results. Scouts and Ebola Service to others being a fundamental principle of Scouting, as always Scouts are among the first responders being one of the largest Youth volunteer organizations. Community mobilizing and educating people specially creating awareness is part of the activities Scouts do in their local communities. Naturally Scouts in West Africa has been involved in spreading awareness and conducting Anti-Ebola sensitization and awareness campaigns. HOWEVER, Stories of Scouts in their community, those in West Africa and those other communities where Scouts are making a difference has not been captured and shared. The purpose of the project "Scouts Responding to Ebola" is to bring together these untold stories of how Scouts are working in responding to Ebola and sharing the positive impact of Scouting. The idea here is to collect stories of Scouts working on response to Ebola in the affected communities (we are aware that a lot of Scouts are very active in helping in the response in all three affected areas) encouraging Scouts all over the world to put up their stories on Scout.org as Scout News post or to share it through Facebook page "Scouts Responding to Ebola". By doing so we hope to identify further areas where Scouts can help out, assist in the global efforts to tackle Ebola Virus. Note: 39th World Scout Conference resolution: 17/11 EMERGENCY RESPONSE The Conference • urges all National Scout Organizations to respond urgently to any national/international emergency such as natural and man made disasters and to be able to coordinate with sister organizations, thus remaining always prepared to respond in an effective manner • encourages the World Scout Bureau to work in partnership with aid agencies to provide coordination, technical and professional support to National Scout Organizations in this regard. (Photo source: http://www.westafricanwriters.org/2014/09/14/liberia-scouts-embark-on-ebola-awareness-campaign/)