Sierra Leones Lockdown May Drive Wedge Between Citizens and Health Officials
Since the outbreak in December, death tolls have drastically risen and government officials are desperate for progress in the fight against Ebola. Sierra Leone officials have decreed a nationwide quarantine. Starting September 19th to the 21st, citizens will be confined to their homes, while 7,00 teams of health workers will go door to door to speak with them.
Sources, however, can’t seem to agree on the purpose of the campaign. While, some are describing the quarantine as a predominately social campaign, others are labeling it as a means to root out the infected. In Sierra Leone’s recent press release, minister of information and communication, Alhaji Alpha, has confirmed the campaign will be medically driven, “We believe this the best way for now to identify those who are sick and remove them from those who are well.”
Taking this action has caused a stir amongst the medical community, as some predominate health organizations have advised against the action. Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, stated “Large scale coercive measures like forced quarantines and lockdowns are driving people underground and jeopardizing the trust between people and health providers. This is leading to the concealment of cases and is pushing the sick away from health systems. This is leading to the concealment of potential cases and is pushing the sick away from health systems.”
With a potential wedge being driven between citizen and government, we must all consider if it’s worth it? MSF has also called the logistics into question,”It will be extremely difficult for health workers to accurately identify cases through door-to-door screenings as this requires a certain level of expertise, and when cases are identified, there will not be enough Ebola management centers to care for them.”
The lack of resources and aid has made this an international priority that has the potential to affect us all. Obama has recognized and stated the importance of our intervention, “If we don’t make that effort now, and this spreads not just through Africa but other parts of the world, there’s the prospect then that the virus mutates. It becomes more easily transmittable. And then it could be a serious danger to the United States.”
Medical staff members at a treatment center in Kailahun, Sierra Leone, last month. Credit Carl De Souza/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/world/africa/sierra-leone-to-impose-widespread-ebola-quarantine.html?_r=0
http://time.com/3282886/sierra-leone-ebola-lockdown/
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/06/world/africa/sierra-leone-ebola-lockdown/
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/07/politics/ebola-national-security-obama/
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