Table. Challenges encountered during response to the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa and GRRT mitigation strategies.
| Challenge | GRRT strategy |
|---|---|
| Limited in-country capacity to detect and respond to disease outbreaks (1) |
Support the development of national outbreak detection and response systems |
| Wide range of technical expertise required to address needs of a large outbreak response (1) | Recruit team members with a wide range of technical expertise and experience |
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|
Train responders in multiple technical areas for high-risk diseases |
| Establishing working partnerships with governments and partner organizations for more efficient coordination (1,19,20) | Train responders on working with partner organizations, incident management systems, cultural sensitivity, and foreign languages |
|
|
Recruit dedicated, ready responders who can mobilize for up to 6 mo for stronger partner relationships and improved coordination |
| Short mobilizations (traditionally 30 d) and frequent rotation of staff disrupted continuity of response activities (19,20) | Recruit dedicated responders who are available and ready to mobilize for up to 6 mo if needed |
| Expand the typical mobilization length of those in leadership roles | |
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|
Develop best practices and systems for information management in field response |
| Responder preparation and readiness (19) | Strengthen safety, security, and responder wellness training through a GRRT orientation |
| Support continuous learning by offering frequent technical trainings on priority topics | |
| Track responder international travel–related mobilization requirements, training, and clearance compliance | |
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|
Obtain supervisor preapproval for mobilizations during on-call months |
| Identifying appropriate responders (19) |
Roster GRRT responders and tracking skills and experience to match staffing needs |
| Limited foreign language capacity (20) |
Develop a program to develop and validate foreign language capacity |
| Logistical support for field efforts (19) | Roster a group of dedicated and surge logisticians who can mobilize to provide support directly to responders in the field or coordinate with Atlanta-based logistics personnel to provide support |
*GRRT, Global Rapid Response Team.