Words of Relief: Ebola Crisis Learning Review

This review examines Translators without Borders’ initiative aimed at improving communication with communities during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa from November 2014 to February 2015. The review captures examples of good practice, gaps and suggestions for improvement in Translators without Borders’ approach to the Ebola response. Among others, the review acknowledges that commitment by humanitarian agencies to address language barriers and information needs was seen during the Ebola crisis. However, more work remains to be done to advocate and raise awareness for the use of local language in humanitarian response. There is a need to change current approaches to ensure that providing information and communication in languages people can understand is considered a priority in humanitarian response.