The Role of Bias in the Unfolding Ebola Epidemic

As the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia continues to claim lives, the unfolding crisis derives less from the virus and more from inaccurate biases that led to an inadequate response. BWH Chief of the Division of Global Health Equity Paul Farmer and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim present this argument in a Washington Post op-ed entitled “What’s missing in the Ebola fight in West Africa,” published on Aug. 31.

“We are at a dangerous moment in these three West African countries, all fragile states that have had strong economic growth in recent years after decades of wars and poor governance” write Farmer and Kim.  “It would be scandalous to let this crisis escalate further when we have the knowledge, tools and resources to stop it. Tens of thousands of lives, the future of the region and hard-won economic and health gains for millions hang in the balance.”

Read the full Washington Post article here.