THE MEDIA IN EBOLA AWARENESS Radio Alfalaah’s Appeal for Help to Save Life ...Continued from last post.... 4. Monitoring & Reporting Watch Teams Contact tracing is used to locate people in the communities who are suspected of being carriers of the Ebola virus or who are known carriers of the virus. This is applicable to those people who knowingly evade or shy away from the testing and treatment centers as well as those who do not know that they have gotten infected with the virus when they touched that acutely ill relative or participated in the burial of a dead one that was killed by Ebola. However, to trace community members or keep watchful eyes on them for the purpose of identifying the suspects, the ill and the dead must be undertaken by an organized group within each community. Resources must be put to the disposal of the groups to help them do their work effectively. Initially, for obvious reason of unhindered information gathering, it would be good for this team to only focus on monitoring people and reporting to the appropriate community structure set up to help people access the testing and treatment centers. Given the fear for stigma and denial, perhaps it is logical to keep the work of this team confidential, not involving them in other community awareness and sensitization, a role that is played openly by the awareness team of the community. This war against this other Public Enemy Number One (Ebola) must be won. A balanced approach to counter the chain action and reaction of the deadly contact-transmitted virus is needed. This calls for a network of coordinated efforts converging on Ebola eradication so that one step complements the other. Imbalances will not do us well in this battle, especially when there are scarcities or limited facility for testing and treatment lead to failure to acknowledge and accommodate suspects and patients. Contact tracing as a means to comb the community for the hidden ill and suspects to be taken to testing or treatment centers becomes ridiculous if there are not enough health facility and testing equipment to receive them. What a dilemma that would be, my peeeople! As such, just as the success of voluntary quarantine or confinement by the sick or suspects depends on the level of awareness a people receive; in much the same way the success of contact tracing is also dependent on the people having access to testing and treatment. Therefore, more treatment centers are needed beyond measure, because if they are in short supply amidst a surplus of patients, the predictable outcome is ominous, tormenting and hopeless at times. Delete Ebola Virus or Be Deleted! By now it is clear that Ebola kills and has come to delete as many people as our inadequate response can permit. That response was centered on denial by people from all walks of life and levels of society. At first people failed to understand the possibility of an easily and rapidly spreading contagion that also kills many people very easily and very, very, quickly! Yet, denial of what is beyond man’s comprehension is not strange. Has not the atheist denied the existence of Allah, despite the glaring evidence of Allah’s handy work that is on display in the open book of the universe? In much the same way Ebola was denied, a denial that was less out of understanding, much less out spite for those insisting on its existence. The result was a miserable failure in our effort to delete the virus early by taking appropriate anti-virus against Ebola. Now that Ebola has become a household name, denial has gradually given way to another inadequate response, i.e. scarce treatment centers and inability to accommodate all patients or suspects due to over crowdedness. As we falter in our response to the Ebola Emergency, the nation bleeds profusely at alarming rate with no end in sight yet. The truth is that this picture becomes all the more gloomy if the prediction of global institution like World Health Organization (WHO) is anything to go by. If a disease that has only affected over 2,000 people in Africa and has caused severe panic everywhere is being predicted that it shall affect up to 20,000 before it can be overcome, is that not a cause for real concern, given our response? Now that denial of Ebola has gradually or finally given way to fear for Eola in many areas, what other factors could possibly allow the killer disease to victimize more people than scarce testing and treatment center? Hiding your sick relatives and engaging in secrete burials could further intensify the spreading of the virus to many people. Another factor that could increase the incidence of the further transmission of the virus is the delay in collecting and disposing of the corpses from the communities. Yet, a major reason that could bring death to many patients and suspects throughout this country is the scarcity of treatment centers around the country and logistical constraints or resources gap in the fight against Ebola. Oh, Allah, Weak, ill equipped, poorly staffed and poorly coordinated is our health delivery system that cannot withstand this virus that is active and fast in spreading among people, taking away our dear ones! Oh, Allah, our economy is not yet in the ship-shape-order its drivers want it to be! Yet, you can help us turn things around for good of our bewildered country and surround us with complete security and immunity against Ebola and other forms of insecurity. We, hereby fall on our faces in prostration in a manner that all your prophets and messengers or righteous servants did while praying to you in humility and submission. We repent to you from our sins of pretenses and following our own desires in everything, rather than following yours, knowing that you mean well, and intend only the good, for us. We pray earnestly that you overlook our trespasses, remove our weaknesses and strengthen us in fighting Ebola. Allah we ask you for quick and lasting victory in the fight against this other PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE. Hold not or punish us not for the sins of the wicked mavericks amongst us. May us win this battle, AMEEN….!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 08:35:55 +0000
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