Understanding West Africa's Ebola Epidemic

$29.99

Taxes may apply at checkout.

Preview sample

Understanding West Africa's Ebola Epidemic

Towards a Political Economy

Development studies Sociology Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Political economy Public health and preventive medicine Epidemiology and Medical statistics Infectious and contagious diseases

Dinosaur mascot

Collection: Security and Society in Africa

Language: English

Published by: Zed Books

Published on: 15th October 2017

Format: LCP-protected ePub

Size: 340 pages

ISBN: 9781786991713


Overview of the Ebola Outbreak

From 2013 to 2015, over 11,000 people across West Africa lost their lives to the deadliest outbreak of the Ebola virus in history. Crucially, this epidemic marked the first time the virus was able to spread beyond rural areas to major cities, overturning conventional assumptions about its epidemiology.

Contributors and Perspectives

With backgrounds ranging from development to disease control, the contributors to this volume - some of them based in countries affected by the Ebola epidemic - consider the underlying factors that shaped this unprecedented outbreak. While championing the heroic efforts of local communities and aid workers in halting the spread of the disease, the contributors also reveal deep structural problems in both the countries and humanitarian agencies involved, which hampered the efforts to contain the epidemic.

Lessons and Challenges

Alarmingly, they show that little has been learned from these events, with health provision remaining underfunded and poorly equipped to deal with future outbreaks. Such issues, they argue, reflect the wider challenges we face in tackling epidemic disease in an increasingly interconnected world.

Show moreShow less