Rose, R.T. (2016). Post-Ebola Recovery: The Future We Want. Solutions 7(6): 47-49. https://thesolutionsjournal.com/article/post-ebola-recovery-the-future-we-want/
Perspectives Post-Ebola Recovery: The Future We Want by Robertetta Tita Rose
UNICEF Liberia
A participant in a focus group holds a flier developed to support community outreach activities aimed at stopping the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.
T
he histories of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia share some unfortunate similarities: civil unrest and political crises leaving over 500,000 people dead, the destruction of functioning state institutions, and one of the worst Ebola outbreaks in 2014. Although armed conflicts are officially over, and all three countries have had successful, democratically elected governments, the Ebola outbreak pinpointed water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) as crucial for public health in the region and a key priority in the Ebola recovery process.1 Investing in the provision of WaSH services not only prevents the spread of Ebola but further prevents other infectious diseases that greatly contribute to global morbidity and mortality: 88 percent of diarrheal diseases are wholly attributable to poor WaSH services and practices.2 The simple practice of hand
washing with soap can reduce diarrhea morbidity by nearly 40 percent and has been found to be the most costeffective health intervention available.3 Hygiene knowledge and behavior is crucial to this process. Investing in WaSH is a matter of gender equality, with access to safe, hygienic, and private sanitation facilities a matter of basic dignity. Women and girls perform most of the unpaid labor associated with water and sanitation, including procuring and managing water, cleaning and disposing of children’s feces, and ensuring water safety, leaving them less time for education, economic activities, and leisure. For millions of women across the world, inadequate access to basic household WaSH facilities is a source of shame and physical discomfort. Millions of women are only able to defecate late at night, often at the
edges of their communities, where they are vulnerable to physical attack and sexual abuse. Over the years, Liberian women have been admired for exemplifying bravery and being resilient; especially in the midst of situations that were considered most deadly, like the Ebola outbreak. The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa not only took a socioeconomic toll on Liberia but also exposed the weak health care systems that women and girls have been challenged with for over a decade. With only 50 physicians in the country, just one for every 70,000 Liberians,4 it became evident that Liberia had not prioritized issues relating to the improvement of basic social services like health care, education, water, sanitation, and hygiene.5 Liberian women have made great gains over the years. In 2003, Liberian women challenged one of Africa’s most despotic presidents, Charles Ghankay Taylor, and ensured that heads of rebel groups signed the Peace Agreement, which was instrumental in leading to the peace that Liberia enjoys today. Following, from 2006 to 2008, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first female president, fostered a generation of educated women (lawyers, doctors, engineers, IT professionals, and entrepreneurs) who are now more prepared to take leadership roles in Liberia. In 2014, the women were again tested, but this time not with weapons, rape, or sex-slavery, but instead by an invisible enemy in the form of a virus. This invisible enemy came like a flash of lightning and took away the essence of Liberian tradition and identity: handshakes, communal gathering, and funeral rites. Again, in order to safeguard their family’s lives and the country in general, the women of Liberia formed networks in hard-hit communities to help contain the spread of Ebola.
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