A Clarion Call To Curb Ebola Spread

The terpid global response to the outbreak of Ebola in some West African countries is proof that indeed, some countries or certain parts of the globe are considered  more important than others. More than 1,900 lives have been lost to the Ebola attack in West Africa. Yet, there has not been a concerted, appropriate, intensive and large scale global interventions and assistance towards ridding the West African region of the festering epidemic.

Already, insinuation is rife that if the deadly virus surfaced in Europe or America, the WHO and other relevant health organisations are likely to have shown a greater commitment towards curtailing the spread, unlike what is being witnessed in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria where the containment of Ebola is turning out to be a very difficult task, due largely to lack of adequate medical personnel and facilities.

Although the WHO claims to have launched a $490 million plan to contain the Ebola epidemic, its effort has rather been unimpressive, considering the fact that it has the capacity to do better.  The global lackadaisical approach towards sincerely curbing the outbreak which has continued to ravage some West African countries has been decried by the World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim, who is miffed about the needless deaths. According to him, all what is required to curb the outbreak is for wealthy nations to step in by sharing their knowledge and resources to help African countries tackle it.

Countries that boast advanced medical care and knowledge have clearly not done enough. A lot more can still be done by all to end the crisis because it derives less from the virus itself and more from deadly and misinformed biases that have led to the unfortunate, inadequate response to the spread of Ebola. The poor response to the scourge amounts to abandoning the affected West African countries to their fate, whereas if the epidemic spins out  of control, the consequences would be borne by the entire global community.

International srganisations, aid agencies and wealthy nations must mount a coordinated response with the affected West African countries, working in tandem with the Word Health Organisation to ensure the immediate reduction in the fatality rate, and a complete containment in the shortest time possible. The truth remains that the whole world will remain  endangered if the Ebola virus is active even in any part of the globe. The earlier the outbreak is dealt with and stopped, the better for all. No country can be totally immuned from the spread indefinitely.

By being more committed to curbing the Ebola outbreak, advanced countries with better medical facilities and expertise would only be saving themselves and the whole world from the huge disaster that the disease could become. Closing their borders, and pulling their foreign staff from Ebola ravaged nations are not enough measures or a guarantee that the virus will not get to them. Affected countries with inadequate health facilities must be assisted by all possible means and particularly by those countries boasting the wherewithal to fight the disease.

On the other hand, African countries must also strive to improve research levels and standards. Being at the mercy of foreign interests for intervention in times of health and other emergencies is a sign of utter backwardness, indolence and failure to plan. The Ebola epidemic should serve as a wake up call for African countries to begin to look inwards towards solving their own problems.