It is clear that the spread of Ebola in West Africa is directly linked to the regions deep poverty: Out of 187 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone rank 175th, 179th and 183rd, respectively. But, while it is easy to recognize the links between poverty and the spread of the virus, there has been little focus on the root causes of the regions impoverishment itself. Along with the worlds deepest poverty, West Africa is in the running for the region with the highest deforestation rate in the world. Some researchers have drawn clear links between the outbreak of the disease and the resource exploitation that plagues the region. Earlier epidemics have followed a pattern similar to the current spread of Ebola: Almost invariably, they affect regions whose economies, ecosystems and public health systems have been decimated; poverty drives people deeper into the forests to look for food and fuel, where they come into contact with animals that act as disease reservoirs - hosts that carry the pathogen without manifesting symptoms; the situation is compounded by the inability of the public health system to respond. Consequently, the impoverished health system itself becomes the reservoir of infections, serving to further the spread of disease, and patients and health workers alike carry the infection to the general population.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 08:38:27 +0000
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