• Home
  • Bio
  • Media
    • Read
    • Watch/Listen
  • Speaking
  • Work with me
  • Contact

MsAfropolitan

FEMINISM. PAN-AFRICA. SOCIAL CRITICISM. DIASPORA. CULTURE.

  • feminism
  • Africa
  • Pop Culture
  • Social Criticism
  • decolonisation
  • Afropolitanism
  • seven
  • Sensuous Knowledge
    • Sensuous Knowledge references and recommended reading
    • International
    • Sensuous Knowledge news
  • Other Books
  • The MsAfropolitan Philosophy Book Club @ Waterstones

Media frenzy about Ebola

August 6, 2014 By MsAfropolitan 3 Comments

panicOn a flight to Lagos last week, a woman with a terrible chesty cough and feverish eyes sat a couple of seats away from me. Unlike many a public transportation commuter, the woman was considerate; she covered her mouth when she coughed and it was evident that she was trying to cough as little as she could despite her condition. Yet passengers around her seemed uncomfortable. A woman sitting next to her asked to be shifted to another seat, for example. Even the short-staffed cabin crew seemed a touch uncomfortable.

We were, after all, flying to a city that had just confirmed its first case of a disease, Ebola, that as far back as I can remember has been labelled one of the world’s deadliest diseases, even worse than AIDS.

I too felt uneasy. Whenever the woman coughed I jerked my face toward the opposite direction so fast I almost caught whiplash. Would I behave in this way under pre-Ebola circumstances? Perhaps, but admittedly other people’s health, or lack thereof, is of unusually high interest to me at present.

In Lagos too, the worry is apparent. Pamphlets about precautionary habits are being handed out. Hand sanitisers are sold out in pharmacies. People are being advised to avoid shaking hands with others. Even the legendary miracle healer, pastor T.B. Joshua, suspended his “healing” services to avoid spreading the virus. But also, as Nigerians tend to do when situations seem unbearable, there are light-hearted jokes about the ridiculousness of the frenzy.

It terrifies me to think what might happen if Ebola were to spread rapidly in Lagos, a city with near anarchic infrastructure and poor health care facilities which doubtful could cope with a mass outbreak. On the other hand, it is reassuring to see how proactive Lagosians are about preventing such an outbreak. This type of attentiveness and care is reflective of a city whose inhabitants, despite it all, are dedicated to making it a safe one. Moreover, Ebola does not spread rapidly. As The Guardian reports, “around 400 new cases were reported in June, and a further 500 or so in July. This is a linear spread, meaning each person at present is infecting on average around (actually just over) one additional person.”

So here’s the thing. What should be a real concern to not only West Africans but also to people everywhere is how efficiently, if unintentionally, the media can cause epidemic hysteria. Sociogenic hysteria of this nature is an extremely dangerous psychological state known to cause social disorder and havoc. Although Ebola has no cure yet, at least not for Africans, and although the infected and their loved ones have suffered incomprehensibly from this unprecedented outbreak, it is worth remembering that since February 2014, 887 people have died of Ebola while 300,000 people have died from malaria and tuberculosis has claimed 600,000 lives in the same period of time.

Where is the media frenzy about that?

Filed Under: Africa, Social Criticism Tagged With: Africa, african diaspora, Ebola, Hysteria, Lagos, media

Comments

  1. MsAfropolitan says

    August 8, 2014 at 12:17 am

    Thanks for the Mutombo blog post, Doreen. I can’t lie it made me laugh. And raises valid questions asked in the right spirit. Unpredictable things such as Ebola bring forth how unquestionably dependent we are on the west and I appreciate that the post makes you wonder what on earth we’re going to do about it.

    There are numerous, significant differences between malaria and ebola, what I wanted to consider is why the media NEVER is alarmist about how MANY people die of the former. Ebola is scary and should be given coverage, but with great care to avoid people to become hysterical. While malaria could do with some news frenzy.

    Keep keeping safe, sis and greetings from Lagos.

    Reply
  2. Paul says

    October 9, 2014 at 8:00 pm

    ” I’m in West Africa now- thankfully not in an Ebola country”

    It’s not even a country, but the countries where Ebola broke out are in West Africa.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. hiring dream house says:
    August 14, 2018 at 4:13 pm

    Buying Home

    Media frenzy about Ebola

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Feminism. Africa. Popular Culture. Social Criticism.

Hi! I'm Minna Salami, I'm a Nigerian-Finnish and Swedish writer and social critic, and the founder of the multiple award-winning blog, MsAfropolitan, which connects feminism with critical reflections on contemporary culture from an Africa-centred perspective. As a lecturer and keynote speaker, I have spoken at over 300 universities, cultural events and conferences, on five continents. I am the author of "Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone - a collection of thought provoking essays that explore questions central to how we see ourselves, our history, and our world." (Harper Collins US) Read full bio

View My Blog Posts

Follow My social media

Visit Us On InstagramVisit Us On TwitterVisit Us On FacebookCheck Our Feed

Subscribe to my newsletter

* indicates required

An African Feminist mixtape

Essay: Oyalogy – A poetic approach to African feminism through Yoruba mythology

ESSAY: A brief history of African feminism

ESSAY: A brief history of African feminism

VIDEO: TEDxTalk – To change the world, change your illusions

VIDEO: TEDxTalk – To change the world, change your illusions

VIDEO: ARISE TV TALKING AFRICA INTERVIEW

VIDEO: ARISE TV TALKING AFRICA INTERVIEW

Recent Comments

  • Evgen on There were no matriarchies in precolonial Africa
  • ทางเข้าเล่น joker on The challenge for western feminism in the 21st century
  • Schües on On Abortion
  • AneM on Polygamy in Africa has little to do with sex
  • Khalifa on Polygamy in Africa has little to do with sex

Sensuous Knowledge – Get the book (US version)

Sensuous Knowledge – Get the book (UK version)

Archives

  • August 2022 (4)
  • May 2022 (1)
  • January 2022 (2)
  • December 2021 (1)
  • August 2021 (1)
  • May 2021 (5)
  • April 2021 (3)
  • March 2021 (4)
  • December 2020 (1)
  • October 2020 (1)
  • September 2020 (3)
  • May 2020 (1)
  • April 2020 (2)
  • March 2020 (4)
  • February 2020 (2)
  • January 2020 (1)
  • December 2019 (1)
  • November 2019 (1)
  • July 2019 (1)
  • May 2019 (1)
  • March 2019 (4)
  • February 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (2)
  • November 2018 (1)
  • October 2018 (2)
  • August 2018 (1)
  • July 2018 (2)
  • June 2018 (2)
  • May 2018 (2)
  • March 2018 (2)
  • February 2018 (2)
  • January 2018 (1)
  • December 2017 (1)
  • November 2017 (1)
  • October 2017 (2)
  • September 2017 (3)
  • August 2017 (6)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (3)
  • May 2017 (6)
  • March 2017 (2)
  • February 2017 (3)
  • January 2017 (2)
  • December 2016 (1)
  • November 2016 (3)
  • October 2016 (3)
  • September 2016 (2)
  • August 2016 (2)
  • July 2016 (2)
  • June 2016 (1)
  • May 2016 (3)
  • April 2016 (1)
  • March 2016 (2)
  • February 2016 (2)
  • January 2016 (3)
  • December 2015 (2)
  • November 2015 (3)
  • October 2015 (4)
  • September 2015 (4)
  • August 2015 (3)
  • July 2015 (2)
  • June 2015 (3)
  • May 2015 (4)
  • April 2015 (4)
  • March 2015 (10)
  • February 2015 (4)
  • December 2014 (3)
  • November 2014 (5)
  • October 2014 (1)
  • September 2014 (2)
  • August 2014 (4)
  • July 2014 (3)
  • June 2014 (3)
  • May 2014 (5)
  • April 2014 (4)
  • March 2014 (2)
  • February 2014 (4)
  • January 2014 (3)
  • December 2013 (3)
  • November 2013 (4)
  • October 2013 (3)
  • September 2013 (4)
  • August 2013 (5)
  • July 2013 (4)
  • June 2013 (4)
  • May 2013 (6)
  • April 2013 (3)
  • March 2013 (7)
  • February 2013 (3)
  • January 2013 (5)
  • December 2012 (4)
  • November 2012 (9)
  • October 2012 (8)
  • September 2012 (4)
  • August 2012 (6)
  • July 2012 (6)
  • June 2012 (5)
  • May 2012 (8)
  • April 2012 (7)
  • March 2012 (5)
  • February 2012 (4)
  • January 2012 (6)
  • December 2011 (5)
  • November 2011 (6)
  • October 2011 (6)
  • September 2011 (8)
  • August 2011 (6)
  • July 2011 (5)
  • June 2011 (5)
  • May 2011 (5)
  • April 2011 (4)
  • March 2011 (7)
  • February 2011 (6)
  • January 2011 (7)
  • December 2010 (5)
  • November 2010 (9)
  • October 2010 (7)
  • September 2010 (5)
  • August 2010 (4)
  • July 2010 (6)
  • June 2010 (5)
  • May 2010 (3)
  • April 2010 (3)
  • March 2010 (1)

more articles

A Historical Overview of African Feminist Strands

August 24, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 3 Comments

… [Continue Reading...]

On Abortion

August 23, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 1 Comment

… [Continue Reading...]

Privacy Policy

https://msafropolitan.com/gdpr

Copyright MsAfropolitan © 2023