Ebola leaves Africa reeling with pain of death, economic loss in 2014

When an outbreak of the Ebola haemorrhagic fever was first reported in West Africa earlier this year, few people including the international community, imagined it would grow into a full blown epidemic, with devastating consequences.

The first case of the disease was reported in Guinea in March but no one seemed to notice until August when the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak an international public health emergency. By then, the haemorrhagic fever had spread to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria.

Latest data by the WHO shows that as at December 17 the death toll from Ebola in the three worst-affected countries – Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – had risen to 7,373 among the 19,031 known cases to date there.

Sierra Leone accounts for the most infection cases at 8,759, against Liberia’s 7,819. But Sierra Leone’s death toll of 2,477 is far less than the 3,346 recorded in Liberia, leading some experts to question the credibility of the figures reported by Freetown.

The economic impact of the crisis has been instant, with authorities slashing growth forecasts amid disruption of activities such as mining and agriculture as well as taking preemptive measures such as border closures.

The World Bank estimates that GDP growth in Guinea will fall from 4.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent. The Liberian economy had been expected to grow by 5.9 per cent in 2014 but the country’s Finance minister Amara Konneh said this was no longer realistic due to a slowdown in the transport and services sectors and the departure of foreign workers because of Ebola.

All three West African nations are already poor countries, but the Ebola outbreak could make them even poorer. The impact of the crisis has, however, been felt as far as Kenya where travel and business ties with the affected countries have been affected.
To minimise chances of the disease getting into the country, the government banned entry of passengers from affected West African countries (excluding Nigeria) into Kenya by air, land or water.

National carrier Kenya Airways was dealt a huge blow, with the company noting in October that it could lose up to Sh4.2 billion this fiscal year following the suspension of flights to Ebola-stricken West Africa.

The Ministry of Health also established an action plan against the disease and assured Kenyans that adequate measures such as screenings at airports and other entry points were on course. But spot checks by the media and complaints by disgruntled passengers cast doubt on these assurances, revealing shortages in Ebola screening equipment and protective gear.

With the minimal budgetary allocation to the health sector over the years, experts note that the Health ministry is not entirely to blame for these mishaps.

“They tried their best. But with sufficient resources, Kenya would have put in place adequate measures beforehand to deal with such epidemics,” noted Elly Nyaim, national chairman of the Kenya Medical Association (KMA).

As is the case in most developing nations, governments seem to respond well under pressure. And Ebola provided that nudge for Kenya.

Indeed, there were no objections when the Ministry of Health requested for Sh670 million from Treasury to step up surveillance of the disease. The funds were channelled towards the establishment of Ebola isolation units in public hospitals, awareness creation, training of medical personnel and purchase of sophisticated screening equipment and other medical supplies.

“These things will help us now and in future whenever we are dealing with similar disease epidemics and other infectious diseases,” noted James Macharia, Cabinet secretary for Health.

He notes that the isolation facility at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) is almost complete and will open in early 2015. Similarly, the ministry has bought thermal scanners to replace previously hand-held thermometers that were slow and unreliable.

“We are now able to screen all passengers and not just those from West Africa. So we feel safer,” said Mr Macharia.

The Health ministry also sent its health workers to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to help in containing the disease and get on-ground experience that will come in handy if the disease gets into the country.

Thanks to awareness, Kenyans who may have previously viewed Ebola as an alien disease affecting ‘others out there’ now have basic information on how to take care of themselves in case of disease outbreak. Moreover, human trials of VSV-Ebola (a new vaccine against the disease) recently begun in the country under the co-ordination of the Kemri Wellcome Trust.

Although there are no cases of Ebola yet in Kenya, the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) stated that demonstrating that the vaccine was safe and that it offered immunity against Ebola in the Kenyan population, would facilitate its use in the country if the need arose.

The Health secretary noted that the ministry will step up efforts in securing porous border points in Kenya to prevent entry of the disease into the country.

“Our air and sea ports are now safe and everyone getting in is screened first,” said Mr Macharia.

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