IRIN: Ebola — is culture the real killer?
“…What is the value of ‘traditional beliefs’ when they are harmful: why can’t people just act more rationally? The simple answer is: ask the communities. The growing number of researchers that do, find that people are acting as responsibly as they can in desperate circumstances. The lack of a properly functioning Ebola response and weak health care services has forced communities into rough and ready self-reliance. Faced with hotlines going unanswered, overcrowded Ebola Treatment Units (ETU), militarized quarantine areas, communities are actually looking for more information, not less…” (Anyadike, 1/29).