Disaster Management Plan

Running head: DISASTER MANAGEMENT 1
Disaster Management
Name
Institution

DISASTER MANAGEMENT 2
Disaster Management Plan
Ebola is a viral hemorrhagic fever that spreads through direct human contact. The virus can be
transmitted through a broken skin when someone comes into contact with body fluids or blood of
a patient with Ebola (Feldmann & Geisbert, 2011). Sharing of objects such as needles can also
aid in spreading the virus to other people. Being very close to a patient with the Ebola virus
increases the risks of one contacting the virus especially when they lack the appropriate infection
control mechanisms. Doctors are required to properly cover themselves when attending to Ebola
patients to avoid coming into contact with their blood or body fluids (Feldmann & Geisbert,
2011). An Ebola patient mixing with a lot of people like was the case at the Independence Day in
Delhi. The patient was able to mix with several people, among them his friends and family
members thus putting them at risk of contracting the disease. It is thus important to design a
management plan to mitigate the potential disaster.
Stakeholder engagement is very important in the management of the Ebola virus. Engaging the
key stakeholders in managing this disaster helps in translating the research findings into policies
that can help in mitigating the disaster in future (Folayan et al., 2015). Some of the key
stakeholders include the World Health Organization (WHO), the National government,
healthcare practitioners, and the members of the community. Each of these stakeholders plays an
important role in managing the disaster as explained below.
World Health Organization (WHO)
WHO through its advisory group on Ebola virus continually provides independent guidance on
the strategic response to outbreaks. It also provides guidelines on treatment, prevention, and the
response to public health. The World Health Organization partners with other people to mobilize

DISASTER MANAGEMENT 3
and deploy more experts to help in managing the outbreak and preventing further spread (Gostin,
Lucey & Phelan, 2014). It also mobilizes several relevant laboratories to get ready for the
diagnosis of more cases. WHO also manages communication and information to help in
analyzing and tracking outbreaks and monitoring response activities. It additionally provides
support to field operations by ensuring the security and accommodation of staff to ensure the
epidemic is managed properly (Gostin et al., 2014). The World Health Organization further
collaborates with the national government to ensure immediate access to Ebola preventive and
therapeutic medications in case of any future epidemics.
The National Government
The government must take ownership of the response through its engagement in the situation.
The government prepares and passes information to the public regarding an outbreak. This
information must include the risks of transmission of the virus and protective measures that
individuals should take (Clarke & Dercon, 2016). The government must ensure that the
information is efficiently shared by deploying the right personnel within the information system.
The national government in cooperation with researchers and health practitioners ensures that the
right quarantine measures are taken to prevent the disease from spreading to other people (Clarke
& Dercon, 2016). The government also offers the necessary security to the practitioners during
the process of screening to identify other potential patients. The government further offers
support in terms of finances to ensure that the disaster is properly managed.
Healthcare Practitioners
Healthcare practitioners involved in care provision for patients with the Ebola virus must ensure
that the virus does not spread to other people within the healthcare setting. They must ensure that