Ebola and the Skeptical Trend

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf [spoke] out against Liberians failing to accept the reality of the epidemic. “We can build Ebola treatment units across the country, establish testing centres, bring in all the medication and personal protective equipment, but if the behaviour of Liberians is not changed, the virus will continue to spread,” she said … The day’s canvassing passes without incident or impediment, but things don’t always go so smoothly, says [Prezton] Vaye, the social worker. “People don’t want to hear about Ebola. They say the government is lying, it’s a way to take our money,” he tells AFP – AFP/Yahoo
Dominant Social Theme: Ebola, the Black Plague of the 21st century.
Free-Market Analysis: African skepticism regarding Ebola has been reported on for the past few months and this article posted at Yahoo shows us that the skepticism persists – warranted or not. These reports were especially numerous in mid- to late- summer when Ebola cases were scarce. At the time, Vice magazine posted an article entitled, “Why Don’t West Africans Believe Ebola Is Real?” Here’s an excerpt:
… After weeks passed with only a handful of reported Ebola cases, skepticism about the virus’s presence took hold across the country. By May, if you asked most Liberians on the streets of Monrovia about their views on the outbreak, the most common response was, “There is no Ebola in Liberia.” Now, with the death toll climbing every day, experts say their efforts to combat the epidemic have been frustrated by fear, superstition, and denial.

This post was published at The Daily Bell on October 06, 2014.