Article ID: CBB007996257

Ebola and COVID-19 in Sierra Leone: comparative lessons of epidemics for society (2020)

unapi

This case study focuses on two epidemic diseases in Sierra Leone. Ebola in 2014–15 drew international response, but was contained within the Upper West African region. COVID-19 reached Sierra Leone in April 2020 as part of a global pandemic. Local social knowledge has been an important factor in shaping responses to both diseases. In the case of Ebola, infection was concentrated in families, and responders needed a good knowledge of family interactional dynamics. COVID-19 is a more public disease. Responders have to assess risk factors in workplaces, markets, and places of worship. Comparing and contrasting the two cases also draws attention to different aspects of the historical context. Ebola response indexes Sierra Leone’s history as a humanitarian project associated with the abolition of the slave trade. The pandemic challenge of COVID-19 draws attention to Sierra Leone’s nodal position within a global diaspora rooted in Atlantic slavery and emancipation. Responders are forced to consider the ways in which the two infections articulate different aspects of calls for global social justice.

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Authors & Contributors
Simonutti, Luisa
Fernando Rosa
Packard, Randall M.
Brigo, Francesco
Larentis, Omar
Martini, Mariano
Concepts
Epidemics
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Medicine and society
Public health
Pandemics
Medicine
Time Periods
21st century
20th century, late
Early modern
20th century
19th century
16th century
Places
Sierra Leone
United Kingdom
Republic of Liberia
Guinea
England
Kenya
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