Community Oversight, Outbreak Governance and Risk Communication: Citizen Accountability in Ethiopia’s Marburg Virus Response

Citizen-driven oversight has been found to be a key yet neglected aspect of epidemic management. In the context of MVD in Ethiopia, a critical voice was raised by citizens using expressions of voice for transparency, accountability, and ethical safeguards, serving a parallel function in management and control to formal government and international efforts. The approach and methodological tool used in this study was a thematic qualitative study and interpretive technique on citizen statements expressed publicly in ways such as social media postings, open letters, interviews, and community narrations. This study sought to code all data consistently in undertaking themes related to citizen-driven management and was guided by formal and standard research pathways for qualitative research. The approach ensured research rigor by way of constant comparison and reflection on interpretation and was in broader themes aimed at citizen interpretation on accountability. Citizen-driven management was discerned to cluster around themes identified by citizens across nine theories with reference to citizen statement expression on critical and positive recognition, thus giving meaning to a process in accountability that was fluid and iterative. The study illustrates a critical semblance of citizen-driven management and positions citizen expression on MVD in Ethiopia by making a statement on accountability justified and located on broader themes and pathways. The study asserts a broader contribution towards literature on public health management and highlights a critical voice on citizen expression that justifies placement and critical interpretation of citizen voice contributions.