Talia Gloster
Ms. Tompkins
World Literature Honors
March 13th, 2015
Killer of People and Money
“Ebola -At least something in Africa will eat tonight.” Jokes and satire relating to Ebola such as this one and countless of others are extremely prominent on the internet, and were even more so when the outbreak originally occurred. Yet, how could Americans possibly be laughing at this terrifyingly dangerous disease? This is because the US has not experienced Ebola to the extent that Africa has. Whereas there have only been a mere two deaths caused by Ebola in America, Ebola has not only affected Africa in killing thousands of its people, but it has also left significant effects on the economy; not all are as fortunate as the United to States to have the money to contain this virus.
While Ebola was still prominent, analysis was made on what the long and short terms effects of Ebola might look like for the African economies it thrived in. The short term impact of how much money would most likely be spent on controlling and curing the disease in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone was a total of 359 million. The countries’ already fragile economies were unable to handle this. “Inflation and food prices were initially contained but began to rise in response to shortages, panic buying, and speculation.” (The World Bank, 2014) This was one of the largest reasons that “a fear of association with others [came about] and labor force participation [was reduced], places of employment [were closed], transportation [became disrupted], and [why] some government and private decision-makers [chose] to close certain areas”: fear. (The World Bank, 2014)
But of course the people of Africa were fearful; Ebola had no known cure and killed thousands of people. In certain affected areas of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, there were “501-4,000” cases. (CDC, 2015) Of those infected, 25 to 90 percent have a 50 percent chance of getting killed by Ebola. Ebola spreads horrifyingly fast, destroying everything in its wake. Kumbah Fayiah, as an example, just became the head of a family of 21 once her husband contracted and died from Ebola after attending the burial of a family member with the virus (Sy, Amandou, and Amy Copely, 2014.) A total of 9,951 deaths have been reportedly caused by this viral disease, as of March 7th, 2015.
It is clear to see that Ebola is not a topic which can be seen in a humorous light, but that it should be seen for what it is: and that is a horrible disease which has affected not only the lives of those in Africa, but also the economy of Africa.
Works Cited
2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa - Outbreak Distribution Map. Digital image. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 02 Mar. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2015.
"News." Ebola: Economic Impact Already Serious; Could Be "Catastrophic" Without Swift Response. The World Bank, 2015. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
Sy, Amandou, and Amy Copely. "Understanding the Economic Effects of the 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa." The Brookings Institution. N.p., 01 Oct. 2014. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.
I really like the fact that you put a recent date to help justify your argument, the 9,951 deaths was shocking/interesting. I also like the connection you made at the beginning between the United States and Africa, and how the Americans make fun of Ebola because we haven't been affected by the disease as severely as Africa has. Why do you think the attention ebola had gotten died down? Seeing how it's a seriously dangerous disease, wouldn't that make more people talk about it and find possible cures?
ReplyDeleteThis really did make me realize that even though in America Ebola isn't talked about as much, that it is STILL a huge problem!! Almost 10,000 people killed, that's shocking. I like how you started off w/ a saying from the US. My question is, is it subsiding, or growing?
ReplyDelete