By
Annalisa Merelli @missanabeem
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People are scared of
contracting Ebola by being admitted into the hospital. AP Photo/ Michael Duff
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West Africa is still reeling from the worst-ever
Ebola epidemic: at least 2,615 people have contracted the virus, and 1,427
have died from it. And while the Westerners
who are being repatriated and treated at home are saluted
as heroes, many African survivors are met with
West Africa is still reeling
from the worst-ever
Ebola epidemic: at least 2,615 people have contracted the virus, and 1,427
have died from it. And while the Westerners
who are being repatriated and treated at home are saluted
as heroes, many African survivors are met with skepticism and face stigma
in their own communities.
Displaying reactions that
recall the
AIDS epidemics, people are afraid of touching Ebola survivors. As Liberian
doctor Melvin Korkor—who contracted Ebola while tending to patients and
subsequently recovered from it—says that on his return on Cuttington University
campus, where he teaches, he was only greeted from a distance. FrontPage
Africa reports that students were afraid he may still be
contagious:
“We want to hug our doctor, but
fear we would come in contact with the virus [...] I will greet him from a
distance.”
“I am happy doctor Korkor has
returned, but I am totally not convinced he is Ebola-free. I will shake his
hands after 21 days.”
So aside from tackling
the epidemic, local and international authorities are pursuing several
initiatives to educate people both on the symptoms of Ebola and on the
progress of the disease—from the “soap bucket challenge” (a repurposed version
of the ice bucket challenge, circulating on Twitter with the hashtag #MousserContreEbola)
to a hit
hip-hop song aimed at educating young people on the symptoms and how the
virus spreads (and how it does not).
The World Health
Organization has shared a video with stories of three survivors, who say
doctors have given them certificates to prove they are no longer infected:
“When I got sick, my family
doubted my recovery. Thank God for the doctors. They gave me a certificate that
indicates I am free of Ebola in case anyone would still doubt.”
In some cases, the
stigma extends beyond the patient to the family, as a woman from Liberia reports
after her nephew—a physician’s assistant—recovered from the disease. In the
video, shared by Global Voices
Online, she also laments the lack of protective gear for health
workers caring for Ebola patients.
Source: http://qz.com
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