Ebola Outbreak Africa Debate Returns
As health professionals start working again in various parts of Central Africa amid the Ebola outbreak, there is another discussion taking place behind the scenes of the current medical crisis.
This debate keeps arising each time that Africa becomes the focus of a humanitarian disaster on the international agenda.
In fact, for several years now, when Africa suffers from some medical disaster, including the Ebola virus, discussions of how Africa needs to be saved have arisen again. While help from abroad cannot always be rejected, many believe that such situations actually raise more questions than just the request for help.
Once again, the discussion on “saving Africa” has arisen due to the news about possible outbreaks in Africa.
Pictures That People Always See in the Media
When there is an outbreak of some disease in an African state, the following pictures appear:
- Overloaded hospitals
- Volunteers in protective equipment
- Urgent fundraising drives
- Pitiful communities
- and news coverage focused on panic and danger
According to healthcare specialists, pictures like that may be necessary in case it is needed to convey the urgency of the situation in emergency conditions. On the other hand, it is believed that media reports are contributing to the popular stereotype about Africa being a country in continuous distress.
This type of criticism is nothing new.
A great number of African scholars, reporters, and social activists have complained that their continent has been misrepresented as the result of constant “savior narratives,” implying that interventions are the central part of the whole process, disregarding the efforts of local medical specialists and communities that struggle against the epidemic.
Despite the fact that local doctors are involved most often in cases of Ebola, foreign experts gain more popularity.
Language of “Saving”
The language used when describing “saving Africans” has come under attack because of what some people consider it to contain.
In such a case, the language makes complex societies subjects of intervention and, therefore, ignores the role that societies themselves can play in resolving their own problems.
African states have learned for years on how to handle disease outbreaks, especially those involving the struggle against deadly diseases like Ebola, cholera, or malaria.
Such examples include discovering the outbreaks in question much earlier than other parts of the world focused on the continent.
Foreign intervention, however, continues being the central element in fighting diseases.
Ebola: Not Just a Medical Problem but a Media Story Too
Every crisis ends up turning into two things simultaneously:
- real medical problem
- a narrative built around this problem
And these narratives tend to shape people’s perceptions for decades to come.
Courtesy of flowcomm (Flickr CC0)What makes the situation concerning Ebola unique is that because of the way the disease looks through the media prism, it is especially symbolic in nature internationally. Pictures of protective gear, quarantines, and emergency facilities go viral over the Internet and in television shows.
In the opinions of some experts, although pictures like these are essential for medicine, they may contribute to creating stereotypes of Africa as a threat to other countries.
A certain number of journalists and critics from Africa claim that when an epidemic emerges anywhere except Africa, media stories focus less on the threat of social chaos and more on healthcare and preparedness.
That’s another aspect of the media discussion globally.
Africa Calls for Respect to Its Scientists
The latest trend is the increased readiness of African scientists to speak in the global arena.
Doctors, epidemiologists, and other scientists from Africa are now questioning the approach that has been taken towards neglecting the local knowledge during outbreaks.
Previously, during Ebola epidemics, the organizations run by Africans were actively involved in:
- studying how viruses were spreading
- communicating with communities
- distributing vaccines
- creating response strategies for the region
It should be noted that many academics think that future outbreak reporting should pay attention to these successes rather than treating African scientists as minor participants in their national catastrophe.
Major Epidemic
The debate surfaces each time there occurs a major epidemic in the sense that such incidents are a means of pointing out the existing inequalities in the world in a rapid way.
- These include:
- Whose control is the issue in question in regard to resources?
- Who gets recognition through the media?
- Whose heroic efforts have been recognized in this context?
- Whose knowledge can be regarded to be of global significance?
For example, in case of an Ebola epidemic, a similar debate arises in the sense that one only starts to consider it when the risk of it affecting others is imminent. This has been criticized by certain groups that argue whether such a way of thinking leads to a belief that Africans suffer due to fears of future implications on other nations.
Such a belief has been the basis of doubt about certain strategies for an international response.
The reason this conversation resurfaces during nearly every major outbreak is because disease emergencies expose existing global inequalities very quickly.
Questions about:
- who controls resources
- who receives media attention
- who becomes the “hero” of the story
- and whose expertise is trusted internationally
all become magnified during crisis response.
Ebola outbreaks also tend to draw massive international attention only when fears emerge about possible global spread. Critics argue this dynamic can create the impression that African suffering becomes internationally urgent primarily when other countries feel threatened.
That perception has contributed to skepticism toward some international response narratives, even when humanitarian aid itself remains essential.
Truths’ Complexity
This topic is challenging to discuss due to the fact that both of these truths can be true simultaneously.
Help from other countries could be crucial for saving lives.
Doctors from other nations and NGOs might come in handy in case of epidemics.
International collaboration is absolutely necessary in case of a health emergency.
Nonetheless, this does not mean that it is alright to neglect the significance of local efforts aimed at solving the problem at hand simply due to these reasons.
The conversation regarding Ebola is now becoming a bigger issue than medicine.
Beyond the Epidemics
As the Ebola outbreak is still being monitored by the health officials, the problem of representation and humanitarianism discourse will remain relevant.
It is due to the fact that every epidemic poses not only a threat to the medical infrastructure but also to the global narrative.
By David Loran Jr
A successful Editor-in-Chief, journalist for over 6 years, writing about important topics that are going on within the U.S. and beyond.
Sources:
The New York Times: Ebola Outbreak Opens Old Wounds About ‘Saving Africans’
TIME: Behind the Mission to Stop Viral Outbreaks Within 100 Days
USA Today: Zoonotic spillover diseases like hantavirus and ebola are on the rise | The Excerpt
Featured Image Courtesy of IAEA Imagebank’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of flowcomm‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
