Ebola: An issue of governance

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa that has killed more than 2,600 can be contained. The main issue facing West Africa is one of poor governance to combat the disease. Regardless of fault, it is the world’s problem now.

To stop the spread of Ebola, those infected need to be placed in quarantine, kept hydrated and be given antibiotics and blood transfusions. While there is no cure for the disease, taking these steps can ensure the disease will not spread.

Even these simple steps are difficult to fulfill in the West African nations of Sierra Leone, Guinea, Senegal and Nigeria. In 2001, the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan said, “We shall not finally defeat AIDS… or any of the other infectious diseases that plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe drinking water, sanitation and basic health care.”

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Thirteen years later, this is still the problem facing West African governments.

Such basic needs are hard to meet since these countries are not wealthy from the beginning. Compounded with issues of corruption and a lack of strong leadership, the finances needed to invest in infrastructure and supplies are nonexistent.

Without large-scale treatment centers, emergency ambulances on call and basic medical supplies, the ability to coordinate the logistics of containing widespread disease is impossible.

One aid worker in Sierra Leone said it took more than five hours for an ambulance to arrive to pick up a woman suspected of being infected with Ebola. This occurred in the capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown. In more rural areas, the wait can be much longer.

Once in an ambulance, getting admitted into one of the few, overcrowded treatment centers is another issue.

The authorities have also failed in gaining the trust of its citizens. Ousmane Sawadogo, a master’s student in applied linguistics from West Africa, said West African governments have not shown that they care about the people enough. Mishandling of funds and the inability to handle basic needs have made the people wary of following their governments’ orders.

Because of this lack of trust, many people infected with Ebola are not seeking care from the local hospitals but are staying at home or looking to witch doctors for treatment. This leads to the disease spreading to others in the community.

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Laurie Garrett, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, said if the international community does not send more aid to West Africa, the disease will infect more than 400,000 people by Christmas. Such a staggering increase in the number of infected would indicate the situation is out of control.

The possibility of an Ebola epidemic in the United States is slim. However, if the spread of Ebola is not stopped soon, all nations are threatened.

Consequently, “in its first emergency meeting on a public health crisis,” the United Nations Security Council declared Ebola “a threat to peace and security.” The UN will now send an emergency response mission, UNMEER, to West Africa to help provide essential services and contain the spread of the disease.

Additionally, U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to set up 17 new treatment centers and 17,000 beds in the region along with sending 3,000 military personnel. Lead by Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, the military will be able to lend its expertise in organization and logistics to local leaders.

With the world’s attention and resources focused on combating Ebola in West Africa, the spread of the disease should be prevented. Thousands will have died, but once again, the world’s focus will slowly shift away from Western Africa.

Yet, West African governments will continue to be deficient. The main issue behind Ebola, poor governance, will not be addressed. Infectious diseases will continue to crop up in the region, having even greater potential to spread beyond West Africa to the rest of the world.

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