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At the end of the fourth episode of the HBO mini-series Chernobyl, the most prestigious TV series ever recorded by Rotten Tomatoes, we learn that Lyudmilla, the pregnant wife of the heroic firefighter Vasily Ignatenko, survives a radiation dose otherwise the fetus unborn has absorbed radioactivity. That happened. Lyudmilla is alive today and lives in Kiev.
This has reminded me of the story of a doctor who fought the Ebola outbreak in 2014 in West Africa. Ebola is one of the most deadly pathogens known; The 2014 outbreak left more than 11,000 dead, 28,000 infected and a generation of orphans.
Dr. Wannie Scott-McDonald, Administrator of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Medical Center in Liberia, spoke about a young mother who arrived at the center in full delivery, with heavy bleeding and no outward signs of virus. Despite this, the baby presented a stillborn, destroyed by Ebola. Once the child was born, the active virus clung to the mother and in a few minutes her fever reached 104 degrees. She died eight hours later. Unlike radiation, Ebola spared no one.
When West Africa was declared free of Ebola in January 2016, the international community – after realizing how weak the world's health systems are threatening global health security – vowed not to let such a health crisis turn into a disaster. An unprecedented period of attention for global health security has begun.
We had learned the importance of rapid mobilization after the World Health Organization's (WHO) blatant failure to sound the alarm until it hatched several months later. We have seen the need to declare the highest level of global urgency possible to secure political commitments and mobilize scarce resources.
We found that mistrust of government often impeded response and that all means must be sought to empower affected populations by enlisting traditional leaders, priests, imams, midwives, community leaders, youth, civil society, local journalists and anyone with a voice of trust.
And it was the United States that spearheaded the global rise, including the deployment in Liberia of 101st Airborne.
Three years later, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), there is the impression that many of the lessons learned have been learned in vain – and with the White House's decision to ban US officials, including including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), to enter the country. In the most affected areas, and according to a strict interpretation of the Protection of Victims of Trafficking in Persons Act, which resulted in the removal of non-humanitarian assistance, we have left behind unprecedented American expertise that – until 'now – has been at the center of all Ebola outbreaks.
During the first week of June, humanitarian agencies in the DRC announced that more than 2,000 people had been infected with the Ebola virus since the declaration of the outbreak last August. Even with vaccines and experimental treatments, the rate of transmission accelerates. It took 224 days to reach the historical figure of 1,000 confirmed and probable cases. It took only 71 days to reach 2,000 people.
Karin Huster, field coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières, said: "In the unstable context of North Kivu – a region where armed groups, mistrust of the government and socio-economic injustices cross each other violently – the response to Ebola has sparked mistrust and violent attacks on health workers and health facilities. "
Some believe that the national government was the first to use the Ebola crisis as a political tool. David Gressly, United Nations Emergency Coordinator for Ebola, said that just days before the national elections, officials announced that the vote would be suspended in the two largest cities of the area affected by the epidemic, Beni and Butembo, known to be strongholds of the opposition. This "created the perception that the Ebola outbreak had been fabricated," he said.
Tariq Riebl, director of emergency interventions for the International Rescue Committee (IRC), said the rage over the suspension of the vote was still palpable: "If you need a turning point, That's it, "he said.
Today, 10 months after the beginning of the epidemic, we have a host of witches: political disinterestedness, mistrust of the authorities, rebel militias, mercenaries, opportunists and activists loyal to society. the Islamic state fuel a deadly epidemic by preventing the medical response from getting ahead of the virus.
It is no longer just a health emergency, it is a political, security and diplomatic crisis, with non-state actors taking advantage of the upheavals of life and panic. As we learned in 2014, this epidemic will not end until communities are involved and will lead the response efforts themselves.
To stabilize the Ebola epidemic, the international community must take into account the advice of its first responders, including global charities such as MSF, OXFAM, Mercy Corps, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. (IFRC).
The good news is that the UN is starting to listen. On May 29, the United Nations Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed the designation of the Ebola epidemic in the DRC as a Level Three (L3) emergency, triggered when agencies are not in a state of emergency. to meet the needs on the ground, which currently includes Yemen, Syria and Mozambique.
Whitney Elmer, National Director of Mercy Corps in the DRC, said the Level Three Emergency Statement could bring "many benefits," but noted that "there has never been epidemic of this complexity and size in the DRC ".
Last month, Gressly, emergency coordinator for the fight against the Ebola virus at the United Nations, acknowledged that managing the Ebola response could no longer be left to health officials alone and that alignment Major political and armed groups on the response effort was essential to ending violence against health care. workers.
Charities remain skeptical about Gressly's ability to tame the forces liberated in eastern Congo. A senior Red Cross official said that while this may lead to stronger leadership and increased funding, "this is not a panacea."
Moreover, in 2014, it took the creation of the United Nations Mission for an Urgent Response to the Ebola Virus (UNMEER) to ensure that all stakeholders demonstrate the same determination and an official statement of the World Health Organization (UNMEER). WHO on a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) to mobilize resources.
Only one UN coordinator for the fight against the Ebola virus is not the UNMEER and the L3 designation is not as close to the firepower of a PHEIC statement. And it is unclear whether there is a political will to escalate before – and not after – the next series of alarming data points that make the world one.
Ebola was defeated in West Africa when a global emergency declaration created the conditions for charities and front – line health workers to take early on the Ebola transmission curve. The disease was not mastered until you recognized that you did not isolate the communities, you worked with them, to isolate the virus. And he was defeated with American leadership.
K. Riva Levinson is President and Chief Executive Officer of KRL International LLC, A D.C.-based consulting firm active in the emerging markets of the world, award-winning author of "Choose the hero: My unlikely journey and the rise of the first female president of Africa "(Kiwai Media, June 2016) .You can follow her @ rivalevinson
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