When outbreaks hit, communities need more than medical response.

They need trusted information. Credible local voices. Leaders people believe. Clear communication instead of fear. The ability to respond together instead of turning against one another.

Because public health measures only work when communities trust the response.

At Search for Common Ground, we help communities strengthen the trust, participation, and local leadership needed to navigate crises together.

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Today, health officials are once again responding to a major Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the World Health Organization has warned of serious regional risk and several borders and entry points have faced restrictions or closures in response. In an increasingly interconnected world — where people, information, and instability move across borders faster than ever — outbreaks can no longer be understood as isolated local events. What happens in one community can quickly affect many others. That is why trusted information, local cooperation, and resilient communities matter not only locally, but globally.

Outbreaks Are More Than Health Crises

Outbreaks expose the fractures that already exist beneath the surface:

• mistrust between communities and institutions
• misinformation and fear
• exclusion from decision-making
• weakened social cohesion
• underinvestment in local resilience

Medicine matters. But medicine alone cannot stop an outbreak if communities do not trust the response.
That’s why outbreaks need more than medicine.

Trust Saves Lives

During past Ebola responses, Search worked alongside communities to help people access credible information, understand public health measures, and participate in response efforts.

The results were measurable:

• Community trust in response teams increased from 27% to 70% — nearly tripling.
• Youth participation in response efforts increased by 44 percentage points.
• Women’s participation increased by 40 percentage points.

Positive perceptions of medical and civic authorities significantly improved.
Because communities respond best when they respond together.

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Communities Are Facing More With Less

Today, many communities are navigating growing instability while long-term global support systems continue to shrink.

At the same time:

• • misinformation spreads faster than ever
  • trust in institutions is eroding
  • fragile systems are under increasing pressure
  • communities are being asked to face crisis with fewer resources and less support

This moment requires more than an emergency reaction.
It requires long-term investment in trust, resilience, and cooperation.

What Search Does

Search for Common Ground does not provide medical care.
We work alongside communities to strengthen the human systems that make effective response possible.

We help communities:

• Access trusted and credible information
• Counter rumors and misinformation
• Strengthen trust between communities and response actors
• Support youth and women leaders
• Encourage participation in public health efforts
• Build cooperation across divides during crisis

Because fear spreads fast. But trust can spread too.

Solidarity Is the Best Immunity

The strongest responses do not come from fear, isolation, or division.
They come from communities that trust each other enough to act together.

That is the work of peacebuilding.

And in moments of crisis, it can save lives.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is a peacebuilding organization involved in outbreak response?

Outbreaks are not only medical crises. They are also moments shaped by trust, misinformation, participation, and social cohesion.
Search helps communities access credible information, strengthen local leadership, and build trust between communities and response actors so public health measures can be more effective.

What makes Search’s approach different?

Search focuses on the social infrastructure behind effective crisis response:

• Trusted communication
• Community participation
• Local leadership
• Cooperation across divides
• Misinformation prevention

We work alongside communities to strengthen resilience before and during crisis.

Why does this matter now?

As global instability rises and long-term support systems weaken, communities need stronger local trust and resilience than ever before.
The ability to respond together during a crisis cannot be built overnight. It requires long-term investment in relationships, trust, and local leadership.

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Communities deserve more than an emergency reaction after a crisis hits.
They deserve trusted information, resilient local networks, and the ability to face uncertainty together.
Help strengthen the trust communities rely on when everything else feels uncertain.