Ebola Outbreak & Its Effective Management 


Since the outbreak of the Ebola disease in parts of West Africa, serious efforts have been made by countries within the sub-region to prevent its spread to other countries. 

So scary is the situation that health professionals who were engaged in different parts of the sub-region to fight it thought that, the end of their lives had come in view of the danger of easy spread of the disease upon contact with infected persons. 

In spite of this fear, it has been possible to contain the disease in severely affected places and thereby prevented its spread. 

This effort was made possible due to international support. The strategies used to fight the disease included its containment, intensive and extensive public education on the disease as well as making available to infected areas appropriate clothing, protective devices, gadgets and trial vaccines. 

Also, alerts on the avoidance of huge gathering of people in one place for purposes of social activities, including the emphasis on non-engagement of handshakes during social gatherings have all helped to tone down the rate of infection in the sub-region. In fighting against the outbreak of the disease, some health professionals and volunteers became infected whilst on duty and lost their lives. Painful as this may be, their lives were sacrificed for a good cause. 

For this reason, the entire sub-region ought to salute and honor them for their determination, display of rare bravery as well as their commendable acts of care and concern to fight the disease to save the lives of their fellow men. 

The good news is that even though the disease has not been completely eliminated, the decline in emerging new cases testifies to the fact that with time the Ebola threat can be overcome and totally eliminated. 

However, this is not the time to be complacent but to continue to work hard in a consistent and determined manner to bring the unpleasant situation under control. 

The two-day ECOWAS ministerial meeting in Accra on the outbreak of Ebola was, therefore, not only appropriate but a step in the right direction, considering that the battle cannot be said to have been won until it is completely over. 

With the review of the situation in Accra, the various stakeholders and participants need to comfort themselves that in spite of the difficulties and challenges, there is a ray of hope for all to achieve the ultimate purpose of the meeting which is to make West Africa an Ebola-free region to enhance socio-economic development.



By: Kofi Amponsah-Bediako, Head of Public Relations, Ghana Standards Authority