Liberia—Moving Beyond “Ebola Free”

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Keys, Hunter ; Midturi, John ; Chambers-Kersch, Laura
• Description:
  Although the ongoing Ebola epidemic has brought much attention to Liberia, diseases of poverty, such as malaria, tuberculosis (TB), and maternal–newborn complications, rarely make the headlines. Along with the other West African countries that bore the brunt of the epidemic, Liberia ranks near the bottom of the Human Development Index, a composite measure that assesses whether persons enjoy a long and healthy life, can acquire knowledge, and have an adequate standard of living (1). In Liberia, before the Ebola outbreak, ≈50 doctors attempted to care for ≈4 million persons (2). In an already fragile health-care setting, Ebola took a terrible toll: >8% of the health care workforce in Liberia died from the virus (3). The consequences of such a dramatic loss will be felt for years to come, especially in the areas of infectious disease and maternal and infant mortality (3). As we renew our commitment to make Liberia “Ebola free,” we should remind ourselves that in the 21st century, Liberians still die from 19th century diseases. The focus must go beyond “getting to zero.” As concerned clinicians, we argue that much more work needs to be done.
• Subjects:
  Disease Eradication Disease Outbreaks Ebolavirus Health Personnel Health Workforce Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola Humans Poverty Areas
• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 21(11):2091-2092
• Pubmed ID:
  26785510
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4625382
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Liberia
• Volume:
  21
• Issue:
  11
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:7e717626b8e190b70bfaa39110528df3529d8e0fdf77d67969747f47044abbc7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/44162/cdc_44162_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 442.99 KB ]