Time USA - 06.04.2020

27

VIEWPOINT

Five key lessons from

the fight against Ebola

By Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Dr. Raj Panjabi

While countries With advanced health care

systems struggle in the fight against COVID-19, its effects

on countries with weaker health systems, including Liberia

and other parts of Africa, will be significant. We were directly

engaged in Liberia’s Ebola epidemic from 2014 to 2016,

which claimed the lives of more than 11,000 people and

resulted in massive economic losses.

Ebola taught us painful but valuable lessons that can help

the world today.

SLOW DOWN THE VIRUS. Take swift action

to temporarily ban public gatherings. To

slow Ebola’s spread, in August 2014, the

government of Liberia imposed a curfew to

reduce movements and virus transmission.

Evidence shows measures to keep people apart

(a.k.a. “social distancing”), such as temporarily

closing bars and restaurants and prohibiting

public gatherings, can slow coronavirus too.

China dramatically reduced its daily cases by

implementing such actions. In considering such

measures, concerns about being criticized for

overreacting get in the way of a speedy response.

But when the safety of their people is at stake,

leaders must overcome their fears and act with

no regrets.

TEST, TEST, TEST. Rapidly scale up testing and bring it close

to your residents’ homes. Early on in Liberia’s Ebola epi-

demic, testing was not available in the country. Samples were

shipped to reference labs elsewhere the region. This created

delays in detecting the spread of Ebola. The Ebola response

in the Democratic Republic of Congo was aided by deploy-

ing rapid testing as close to the community as possible. South

Korea’s drive-through test centers helped that country detect

those with coronavirus and isolate them to reduce its spread.

As rapid coronavirus test kits become available, outreach

nurs es and community-health workers can be trained—and

equipped with protective gear—to test patients at or near pa-

tients’ homes.

PROTECT HEALTH WORKERS. EBOLA KILLED NEARLY 1 OUT

OF 10 OF LIBERIA’S HEALTH CARE WORKERS. Contracting

the illness doesn’t only lower the number of workers available

to fight the virus, it also shatters the spirits of those left on

the front lines. Health workers, 70% of whom are women, get

sick when they lack protective equipment like gloves, gowns

and masks. A nurse without a mask is like a soldier without

a helmet— neither stands a chance against their enemy. By

working with partners to scale up distribution of protective

gear, we were able to lower the rate of Ebola infections among

health workers. Coronavirus anywhere

is a threat to people everywhere. The

World Health Organization’s COVID-19

Solidarity Response Fund is working to

ensure doctors, nurses and community

health workers in low- income countries

have the gear and training they need.

REPURPOSE PARTS OF GOVERNMENT,

INCLUDING THE MILITARY, TO

SUPPORT EPIDEMIC RESPONSE. At

the peak of Liberia’s Ebola epidemic,

hundreds of people fe ll sick every

week. Hospitals in Monrovia were

overwhelmed, and we ran out of

treatment beds. To rapidly increase

the availability of hospital

beds, we used our military

to work with the U.S.

military to construct

Ebola treatment centers,

dramatically increasing our

hospital-bed capacity.

PLAN FOR RECOVERY

NOW BY FOCUSING ON

THOSE MOST AFFECTED

BY THE ECONOMIC BLOW.

The 2014–2016 Ebola

epidemic cost $53 billion

in losses in West Africa.

Liberia began to plan for

post-Ebola recovery during the crisis.

In response to COVID-19, the U.S. has

announced it will give billions of dollars

in economic relief. But many low-

income countries simply will not have

the capacity to cushion the pandemic’s

economic blow. The U.N. and partners

should consider an economic-

recovery initiative to support the most

vulnerable in these countries.

When epidemics strike, fear, anxiety

and despair can be agonizing. But we

are not defined by the conditions we

fa ce, no matter how hopeless they

seem—we are defined by how we

respond to them. Decisive political

leadership and global cooperation will

determine if we win the war against this

invisible enemy.

Sirl eaf is the fo rmer President of Liberia

and the World Health Organization’s

goodwill ambassador for health

workforce. Panjabi is CEO of Last Mile

Health and an assistant professor at

Harvard Medical School

Docto rs

Without

Borders

workers

suit up in

prote ctive

clothing

befo re

ente ring an

Ebola ward

at the Elwa

Hospital in

Monrovia,

Liberia,

in 20 14

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