Abstract
The Ebola epidemic in West Africa between 2014 and 2015 was the deadliest since the discovery of the virus four decades ago. With the second-largest outbreak of Ebola virus disease currently raging in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, (DRC) it is clear that lessons from the past can be quickly forgotten—or be incomplete in the first instance. In this article, we seek to understand the health challenges facing marginalised people by elaborating on the multiple dimensions of marginalisation in the case of the West Africa Ebola epidemic. We trace and unpack modes of marginalisation, beginning with the “outbreak narrative” and its main components and go on to examine other framings, including the prioritisation of the present over the past, the positioning of ‘Us versus Them’; and the marginalisation—in responses to the outbreak—of traditional medicine, cultural practices and other practices around farming and hunting. Finally, we reflect on the ‘lessons learned’ framing, highlighting what is included and what is left out. In conclusion, we stress the need to acknowledge—and be responsive to—the ethical, normative framings of such marginalisation.
Highlights
The ‘Outbreak Narrative’The Ebola outbreak in 2014 and 2015—which began late in December 2013 and ended during
The Ebola epidemic in West Africa between 2014 and 2015 was the deadliest since the discovery of the virus four decades ago
Does it remain so difficult to go beyond a rote medical response and repetitive media narratives of “mistrust” in doctors and science? In this paper, we seek to understand the health challenges facing marginalised people by explicating the multiple dimensions of marginalisation in the case of the Ebola epidemic of 2014–2015
Summary
The Ebola outbreak in 2014 and 2015—which began late in December 2013 and ended during. The narrative excluded consideration of the personal tragedies and losses of those people affected; instead, those regions and populations mostly affected by the disease were consigned to secondary characters in a narrative about the West and the potential risks and dangers implied by the spread of the disease across international borders [22] This familiar—but highly misleading—narrative of causation omitted multiple other factors in the causation of the epidemic, ranging from the effect of rapid urbanisation with inadequate basic infrastructure, entrenched poverty and the detrimental implications of a lack of care and proper governance following post-war conflict [1,13,21,24,25,26,27]. Versus de facto structural, normalised and institutionalised dimensions of impoverishment and neglect and their bearing on the containment of the outbreak
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