How to stamp out stigmatisation of Ebola survivors

This is my considered formula that can stamp out stigmatization faster than can be imagined; let the Ebola survivors be offered full handshake and public embrace by the health minister, the commissioner of health and the governor of the state where the epidemic is ravaging. This will, undoubtedly, allay public fears and embolden the entire fear-ridden Nigerian community to welcome these survivors into the society with open arms.

The deadly Ebola virus arrived Nigeria on July 20th, through the late Patrick sawyer who escaped being quarantined in his country Liberia. According to the late Sawyer’s wife, the late husband came into Nigeria to access a better health system. This was indeed laughable because Nigerians themselves are travelling in their droves abroad for the same purpose of accessing better medical facilities.So one wonders where he got his information about our health care from. Be that as it may, his arrival in Nigeria brought horror, fear and diminished our cultural values.

The usual compassion that was customarily extended to the sick, gave way to abandonment of people who slightly exhibited the symptoms of fever,which is claimed to be an Ebola-related indication. I remembered how people who were close to me avoided me and my two year old son, who coincidentally was stooling and vomiting during the outbreak of the disease, even though what the boy was diagnosed with was far from the deadly virus. Even the doctors who used to be so nice to us before the outbreak of the disease, became so cold as every action they took while treating my son of a mild sickness, was measured on the scale of caution. One cannot blame them though, they are the most vulnerable. Everyone just suddenly became so careful and selfish because of the endemic Ebola monster.I was equally engulfed in this inferno of fear, as I had to turn down an invitation to attend a wedding ceremony because to me, it was not just the best of times to show up at public functions to avoid being infected. So sympathetic was a case of an Ebola survivor who went to testify in the church after his freedom, and after his testimony, the next testifier on line refused to take the microphone from him for fear of being infected.

Thank God for the concerted and meticulous interventions of both the Federal and Lagos State governments, in containing this monstrous virus, an effort many have argued, can better our society if equally deployed to other spheres of our national life. One can only imagine how far our crusade against corruption can go if dragnets were promptly extended to apprehend and quarantine all primary and secondary contacts to people suspected to have a hand in the stealing of public funds. This is a story for another day.

Now, we are all full of gratitude to God,as Nigeria has so far recorded a high rate of survivors without the much acclaimed test drugs. Those infected are being discharged and given a clean bill of health, but their joy of cheating death by the narrowest margin, swiftly snowball into stigmatization from the same members of the public who were praying for their survival while in the isolated camps. This might not be unconnected with scepticism of their freedom from the dreaded epidemic. News of  how Landlords and employers of labour have ejected and fired Ebola survivors is regrettable.

Again, thank God for the Lagos State government, for asking those who feel stigmatized to petition the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General of Lagos State for redress, as such actions from members of the public was against their fundamental human rights.

While applauding the efforts of government in discouraging this embarrassing situation, this is my considered formula that can stamp out stigmatization faster than can be imagined; let the Ebola survivors be offered full handshake and public embrace by the health minister, the commissioner of health and the governor of the state where the epidemic is ravaging. This will, undoubtedly, allay public fears and embolden the entire citizenry to welcome these survivors into the society with open arms. I, personally, and I believe a few others don’t require this drama to believe that these survivors are indeed free, but I am giving this formula to assuage the fears of the minority few in our society with prejudices. I remember when the two Americans who were declared free from the virus – Brantly and Nancy, walked around the room at Emory University Hospital, hugging staff members and shaking hands to demonstrate their freedomand ever since, we are yet to record a single case of stigmatization in America because everyone got convinced almost immediately.

A situation where the government officials and medical experts in Nigeria stand at a distance to give Ebola survivors, clean bill of health, may continue to fan the embers of stigmatization. If we continue to stigmatize these survivors, the prognosis is that people infected with the virus will habitually go underground, which explains why someone will escape quarantine camp in Liberia to Lagos and another victim left Lagos to  Port-Harcourt and some other girl escaped to Abia but was turned back, all in the bid to avoid stigmatization. We are well aware of what these runaway actions have caused the Nigerian public.

Now that we have known that Ebola is not a death sentence from the record of survivors in Nigeria, let everyone with symptoms, avoid contact with members of the public, once down with symptoms. Rather,victims should quickly alert the Ebola management team for treatment. And the society should be willing to accept Ebola survivors once declared free by experts without prejudices. Let’s not give a single room to Ebola, as it is not only a health issue but a serious threat to our economies, cherished cultural values, and development in general.

Uwem Udom