Browsing: Ebola

Sierra Leone’s government may have to impose severe austerity measures.  These measures will address inefficiencies and inadequacies in allocating and administrating public resources. However, all hands must be on deck within these economic management measures. This will secure the ring-fencing of money for essential objectives like education, livelihood preservation, and health. These objectives remain critical to maintaining social stability and a rapid return to the economic recovery path.…

Before it infects humans, Ebola ‘is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as fruit bats, chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, forest antelope or porcupines found ill or dead or in the rain forest.

Notice the list of animals, these are very common not only in an African forest but any bushes or shrubs in any human settlement (across the world). Again, while scientists explain the epistemology of the disease, they fail to explain why after centuries of safe contact, now these animals are infecting humans.

What scientists do know is ‘Ebola then spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from Ebola.’…

During the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa the disease brought the economies of the region to its knees. The overall impact of the Ebola crisis on Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone was estimated by the World Bank to have hit $2.8 billion ($600 million for Guinea, $300 million for Liberia, and $1.9 billion for Sierra Leone). This included the shocks in 2014 and 2015, and 2016 as the economic impact is outlasting the epidemiological impact.

The economies of the region remained in recession for a while and the countries are still showing signs of human capital loss as well as economic stagnation. Liberia lost 8% of its doctors, nurses, and midwives to Ebola. Sierra Leone and Guinea lost 7% and 1% of their healthcare workers, respectively.

The United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany were the top donors to the international Ebola response, donating more than $3.611 billion (US$) …

With the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic slowing down the global economy’s growth, Africa could just be in time for a revolution that could help it recover faster than the rest of the world.

For starters, the continent is advantaged by having fewer infections which could make it possible for Africa to successfully curtail the spread of the coronavirus if strict measures are taken. While this move may not be uniformly undertaken continent-wide, the ravages of the Ebola virus have prepared many to deal with the pandemic. From years of suffering from viral infections, the continent is well placed to stop the virus in its tracks.

But this comes at a cost since governments should be willing to spend on their people to ensure that the majority who live on daily casual wages are provided for to help them stay in during lockdowns.

Coronavirus: African leaders stuck with neglected, outdated healthcare systems