Ebola Virus Disease and Global Safety: The Problematic Case of Social Exclusion of West Africa

Abstract

The Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has become a global public health issue that threatens the existence of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and indeed the rest of the global world. The disease has claimed and is still claiming several lives from the affected countries. Distress calls from West African leaders to the international community for support in the fight against the disease received a rather slow response from countries that have the wherewithal to stem the spread of the disease and to halt the continuous extermination of hundreds of people in the affected countries. The Ebola virus disease’s potential to brutally hit the rest of the world was probably underrated by the Developed World, culminating to sluggish response to help curb the spread of the disease. Accordingly, the slow response from the international community to fight the disease was probably, a response which was ill-conceived as an African problem that must be resolved by African medics. The Ebola virus disease has since metamorphosed into a global public health pandemic “root and branch.” This paper argues that the spread of the infectious Ebola virus disease is as a result of the lackadaisical attitude by the developed world in the fight against the disease, and that the international community’s attitude fosters a posture of social exclusion of West Africa.