Ebola workers at risk: the tragic reality of the Ebola response in West Africa

 

Since the beginning of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in March 2014, medical and non-medical staff from the health ministries of the affected countries, as well as the NGOs supporting them, have been on the frontline of the battle against the disease. 

 

If not properly protected, medical staff directly in contact with patients are at risk of contracting the disease. It is believed that more than 240 health workers were infected –  120 have died – following infection with Ebola. Others have fallen sick and many more are now too afraid to come to work. In Sierra Leone and Liberia, few health centres have received the necessary materials for isolation, protection and disinfection, putting more staff and patients at risk. Today, several health centres are completely deserted, leaving thousands of people without medical care.

 

Beyond the risks in medical facilities, Ebola now exists within the communities in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and is therefore a potential threat to all. For MSF, despite all the safety measures put in place, training and information given to staff about behaviour to adopt both at work and in the community, unfortunately risk-zero does not exist. MSF’s primary responsibility is to maintain a work environment that can be as safe as possible. As in many other countries where MSF works, the reality is that our locally employed staff live within the community. Right now, this community is facing a huge threat with the spread of the disease, and MSF staff are not spared. 

 

Since MSF began working in response to the epidemic in March, six locally employed staff have fallen ill and were admitted to Ebola management centres in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Three of them sadly passed away in August 2014. 

 

Although it is likely, after in-depth investigation, that none of our staff members were infected at work, these tragic events are a constant reminder of the fact that Ebola is currently rife in communities and can affect anyone who is exposed.

 

This tragedy of deaths among those fighting this deadly disease, alongside the loss of lives of so many others, is a terrible blow in the struggle against the epidemic and underpins the urgent need for immediate and concrete action to control its spread before it gets further out of control.

 

With almost 2,000 staff in the region and considering the quick spread of the disease within communities and the slow international response, it is unfortunately quite probable that more MSF healthcare workers or their family members will become infected with Ebola. MSF can only urge, once again, states to act immediately to help the most affected countries to contain the epidemic.