NIGERIA - Nigeria in the time of Ebola

According to an article of the New York Times dating from 5th of September 2014 entitled „Nigeria in the time of Ebola“  there have been a number of new Ebola cases in Nigeria. Patrick Sawyer, for instance, who fled from Liberia to Nigeria in the hope of getting better medical treatment contributed to the spreading of the disease. He died five days later. Meanwhile others have been infected. One of the nurses who treated P. Sawyer and who was infected by him managed to escape from a poorly guarded Isolation ward. She is believed to have infected another 20 people.

People living in Nigeria use an intimate physical way to welcome each other; shaking hands is just the first step of greeting people. This is a serious issue because manners mean a lot in this country. Since Ebola is transmitted by physical contact the measures taken to prevent the spreading of the disease creates an awkward situation for the local population. The fact that people no longer shake hands indicates how serious the situation nowadays is with Ebola in Nigeria. It is understandable that this deadly virus with no known cure tends to cause panic is understandable, given the number of stories about the disease coming out of West Africa. Due to this fact, a lot of quack cures, as well as traditional herbal remedies from folk doctors have become popular and widespread. For instance, it is said, that drinking and bathing in salt water is a way to avoid becoming infected. This has caused at least two deaths and approximately 20 other people who had to go to the hospital. Besides these rare cases, most people remain calm but careful at the same time.


What we have to say about this:
 
It is noteworthy how the government of Nigeria has taken an atypically responsible approach. Usually the people of Nigeria distrust their government. The government is believed to be corrupt and incompetent, illustrated by the ineffective fight against the Islamic rebels of “Boko Haram”. Most of the people simply hope, that they are not going to get infected, use disinfectants and try to live their life as before.

Nowadays it is important to be aware of the the events happening in the world. Due to globalization it is certainly possible that Ebola occurs in Western Europe, and everyone should be informed and should know what Ebola is. It is interesting to get to know other countries and cultures, which are different but where English is spoken. This is the reason why we have chosen an article about Nigeria, a place we barely know. And since Ebola is a current issue worldwide, it is absolutely worth discussing and commenting the facts mentioned in the article. The author Adewale Maja-Pearce basically compliments Nigeria on its swift reactions to the spreading oft the virus to this country. But exactly these reaction had a big influence on the population of Nigeria. 

Imagine how all these people must have been shocked and confused, as they were told to suddenly abandon the traditional system just because of hygienic safety. We don't believe that they could simply drop their elaborate rituals and traditions at once. Indeed, the article talked about awkwardness in social relations, but it didn't seem like a big affair for them to handle according to what is written in the article. Many people probably only followed the advice because it was given by their religious leaders, both Christian and Muslim. They did so because they are profoundly religious and not because they understood that safety comes first. That's why the authorities made a right decision, using the churches and mosques as transmitters. Nevertheless, traditions should not be given up during in these difficult times and they probably won’t because it is very difficult to lay down the old traditions. The risk of spread is still acute and it is impressive to see that the people are trying to avoid an infection. However it is bad that the infected don't trust the medical institutions. There have been violent riots because of the isolation of infected people. Here we see a big difference to the people in Europe, who would certainly trust the medical health facilities. Maybe this has to do with the infrastructure because in Europe it is much more developed than in Africa. In Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa traditional healers challenge the authority of the medical institutions. This an issue since people in Africa have to decide whom to trust. In order to decide properly some basic medical knowledge about diseases is needed. Unfortunately education in Africa is not as good as in Europe and not all the inhabitants of Nigeria are able to afford a proper education.

The situation with Ebola can perhaps be compared with HIV which also first appeared in Africa before the disease spread to developed countries. Nowadays medicines are available to treat HIV and information campaigns have been successful to avoid a further spreading of the disease. Ebola crisis will soon be under control thanks to the experience of HIV. This is absolutely necessary if more misery in Nigeria and elsewhere is to be avoided. (Fe, Ch, Ke)