The Real Ebola Threat
10/16/14
Brooks Marmon
Ebola, Africa
"West Africa may be at the center of the ongoing Ebola crisis, but the fear of the virus is pan-African."
West
Africa may be at the center of the ongoing Ebola crisis, but the fear
of the virus is pan-African. Much of the world sees Ebola as an African
problem and Africans are beginning to internalize this perception as
well. The continent’s response to the virus is seen domestically and
internationally as a litmus test of the capacity and abilities of
national governments which are using the crisis as a means to assure
their citizens and international partners of their newfound capacities
and crisis response potential.
In
southern Africa, Zambia was one of the first countries to announce
restrictions on travel from the Ebola affected countries in early
August. Shortly thereafter, Kenya Airways halted flights to countries at
the center of the Ebola epidemic.* South Africa, a major destination of
travelers from West Africa, blocked visitors from the affected
countries a few weeks later despite advice to the contrary from the
World Health Organization. Namibia and Botswana followed suit soon
after.
More
recently, the continued spread of the virus has started to impact
travel within Africa even outside of the Ebola hotspots. In late
September, Namibia’s health minister advised Namibian nationals not to
visit Zimbabwe due to Ebola fears. Zimbabwean officials in turn have
encouraged their citizens to avoid all of West Africa, explicitly
requesting that they cancel visits to popular Nigerian preachers.
Read full articlehttp://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-real-ebola-threat-11483
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