The Politics of Fear: Médecins sans Frontières and the West African Ebola Epidemic

by Michiel Hofman (editor), Sokhieng Au (Editor)

The 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa was an unprecedented medical and political emergency that cast an unflattering light on multiple corners of government and international response. Fear, not rational planning, appeared to drive many decisions made at population and leadership levels, which in turn brought about a response that was as uneven as it was entire populations were decimated or destroyed, vaccine trials were fast-tracked, health staff died, untested medications were used (or not used) in controversial ways, humanitarian workers returned home to enforced isolation, and military was employed to sometimes disturbing ends.

The epidemic revealed serious fault lines at all levels of theory and practice of global public national governments were shown to be helpless and unprepared for calamity at this scale; the World Health Organization was roundly condemned for its ineffectiveness; the US quietly created its own African CDC a year after the epidemic began. Amid such chaos, M�decins sans Fronti�res was forced to act with unprecdented autonomy -- and amid great criticism -- in responding to the disease, taking unprecedented steps in deploying services and advocating for international aid.

The Politics of Fear provides a primary documentary resource for recounting and learning from the Ebola epidemic. Comprising eleven topic-based chapters and four eyewitness vignettes from both MSF- and non-MSF-affiliated contributors (all of whom have been given access to MSF Ebola archives from Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia for research), it aims to provide a politically agnostic account of the defining health event of the 21st century so far, one that will hopefully inform current opinions and future responses.

Genres: Nonfiction, Medicine, Health, Africa, Science

297 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 5, 2017

Reviews

[Nico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book written by different authors with different expertise and focusing on varying aspects of the ebola response. Unfortunately, the down side of each chapter bring written by different authors is that it sometimes lacks cohesion.

[Ronnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ordered this book after listening to a Webinar from Medecins Sans Frontières re the Ebola epidemic. As the five people spoke and answered questions during the presentation it was revealed that this book was being released by Oxford University Press..Well ...I ordered it. Let me give you a little history ..In 1975 I read about the hunt for a new fever in West Africa named Lassa Fever. The article was in the Readers Digest. I think it was in three sections. If I read it 15 times ..then I must have read it 25 times. It was riveting reading...because when i was at Fort Bragg .With the 714th Preventative Medicine Unit. Me and four or five others had to trap animals...Opposums ..Raccoons....rabbits....and other animals.....in cages...put them to sleep temporarily.....get a blood sample...comb their fur..just to find out what kinds of diseases that they may have had..Entomology....for a kid who was a medic(91B10) and Preventative Medicine(91s10) but no college ...and not happy with Army life as it was this was really exciting. So reading this stuff happening in another country and what was being attempted to find what was occurring was stunning. Now I am an RN...and I continue to read this stuff..What makes it entirely engrossing is that the book refers to that book "Fever ...by John Fuller" and some of the nurses that were involved with the Lassa Fever event are in this book..Some of them died from Ebola. Please find this book...I will be donating this book to the Leominster Public Library for others to read...This is a riveting book. Politics of Fear..This was about Ebola....but it could have been Zika...When the H1N1 made its presence known the fear factor was everywhere. Parents for their children.....husbands...wives....families...Schools...Fear builds up and feeds on angst
and provokes dark imaginations ......It is a heavy read....Read this book...Read this book.Read this book...Read this book....Read this book....Read this book.....Read This book..Ronnie Houle RN BSN

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overview of the key debates and operational dilemmas from MSF's involvement in the West African Ebola outbreak of 2014. Some of chapters are very interesting, although the volume does feel quite thrown together, and after having read it, I don't really come away with a good understanding of MSF's experience or its key problems. It really is missing an overall chapter summarizing the view of both the history of the outbreak and MSF's role in it.

[Jur9en]

First few chapters are hard to get through: a bit self-centered on MSF culture. But also good chapters that show the personal side of patients and aid workers, plus the different ethical choices that were made.