Treating Ebola as a global threat

What would the international response have been had North America or Europe or East Asia, instead of West Africa, been affected by Ebola virus? Even though enjoying sound health and having access to health care during sickness are basic human rights to everyone, does this principle apply to the poor Africans? Could the World Health Organisation (WHO), which is primarily assigned in its constitution to direct international health efforts, tackle epidemics and play its role in West Africa? Why did it take a long time to declare Ebola crisis as an international emergency case even though the fatalities of the virus were so high?
If the Ebola virus would have been taken as an international emergency case and effective measures taken at its earlier stage, human and economic costs of the virus might not be this much high. Many lives could have been saved and tens of thousands might have been protected from further infection. Although it is too late, there is no alternative but to take immediate effective actions now.
In an increasingly interconnected world, diseases can spread quickly from villages to cities and from cities to other countries. In this case, although Ebola virus was detected in March 2014 in Guinea, eventually it spread to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal. As of September 10, 2014 the virus caused more than 2,200 human casualties although the actual figure might be much more than that, since many families are reluctant to report the cases. It is, moreover, believed that more than 4,200 people have been afflicted with the virus earlier in five countries. It is a grave concern to the world community that the virus is spreading out quickly in some countries like Liberia where more than 500 cases have been reported in a week according to the figures of the WHO. The WHO has also warned that there might be thousands of new cases in the upcoming weeks. Since the first detection of Ebola virus in 1976, it has been the most severe case in terms of human casualties and the numbers affected. And nobody knows, how long this epidemic will continue and how many lives might be lost. Needless to say, the outbreak has been a clear threat to regional health security in West Africa, which might be a threat to other regions as well since the virus has been declared by the WHO as 'out of control' now.
While in one hand, there is a shortage of health professionals and nurses on the ground which is a grave concern, on the other, due to this shortage, the highly-trained doctors are also being affected. Already 160 health professionals have been affected in Liberia, and 80 died. Another concern is that local doctors are not trained up and the local hospitals are not properly equipped with for treatment of Ebola. The world community also needs to remember that while West Africa is unable to provide even basic health care to its citizens, how can the region handle such an outbreak? So, without a proper international response, tackling this epidemic is quite impossible. This ultimately might take more human casualties and cause huge economic losses.
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS OF HEALTH: Health is not considered as much important as military or other hardcore security concerns. Consequently there is an inadequate fund for health due to international politics. Ebola crisis shows how poorly prepared the WHO is: having no vaccine and even no proper treatment, inadequate funds and human resources.
While there is an international emergency, the WHO, along with other health-related organisations, has inadequate funds and therefore is poorly prepared to face any epidemic outbreak like Ebola. In this context, Sheri Fink in the New York Times notes that 'The WHO, the United Nations agency, has been badly weakened by budget cuts in recent years, hobbling its ability to respond in parts of the world that need it most'. In the context of Ebola crisis, Rose Ann DeMoro in a piece in the Huffington Post points out that 'inadequate funding of health resources is another major reason for the deadly shortfall of protective gear for nurses, doctors and other health workers. Many staff do not even have access to gloves and masks, much less full protective equipment, such as hazmat-style protective suits. Even in dedicated Ebola wards, protective gear is often scarce'.
So, with regard to handling Ebola outbreak, the role of international community needs to be pro-active. Furthermore, it is ironic that the affected region's organisation, the African Union was also a silent spectator of the fatal Ebola for a long time. After six months of the outbreak, they sat together searching for responses.
ROLE OF MEDIA: There is politics over knowledge of Third World issues. In this context, the media, particularly the dominant ones, did not pay due attention to the Ebola crisis. It seems that the lives of the poor people in the African region have become cheap and valueless.
What can be done?
If a citizen of a developed country is affected, no doubt, it carries a greater attention from all corners of the world but while tens of thousands are affected in a poor region like Africa, it is hardly cared. We are not criticising but the fact remains that the issue of terror attack in a rich country is dealt with instantly and actions are taken promptly but despite severe consequences of Ebola crisis in West Africa, it hardly seizes the attention of the international community.
Hence, without any further delay, immediate effective international response is a must to face Ebola crisis to avert any worst situation in the days ahead. There must be enough funds so that all sorts of preparations could be made to face any future outbreak. In addition, raising awareness is a must. This was quite absent in the Ebola virus-affected areas. Here, the role of media becomes crucial.
Finally, the marginal position of health in international politics needs to be upgraded since there is no scope to treat health with negligence. The world community needs to remember that there is no military solution to viruses like Ebola. Hence, Hans Zinsser has warned that 'swords and lances, arrows, machine guns, and even high explosives have had far less power over the fates of the nations than the typhus louse, the plague flea, and the yellow-fever mosquito'.
The writer is Research Associate, the East Asia Study Center (EASC), Arts Building, University of Dhaka.
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