On March 16, 2020, Foreign Policy published an article written by former Liberian Finance Minister, Amara Konneh. “What the West Can Learn from Africa’s Ebola Response” was the title and the tagline read, “a poor country succeeded in fighting off Ebola; wealthier countries should replicate Liberia’s strategy in combating the Coronavirus.”
I beamed with joy as I read Konneh’s valorous uplifting of Liberia. Liberia had finally done something that set us apart from the rest of the world! A “poor country’s” ability to combat the Ebola virus is something the world has never seen. Suck on that, world!
As a Liberian who studied in the United States of America, I never thought I would see a day where Liberia could be of assistance to the high and mighty West. My mom had told me of stories of the old days when Liberia rubbed shoulders with leaders of the West. Gone are those days, I’ve always thought. Conditions in Liberia make it very hard to be a proud Liberian, forcing us to clutch onto every semblance of “decent” we see in foreign media. So, forgive me for being incredibly proud of how we handled what is the most terrifying public health crisis in Liberia’s history.
But little did I know, this sense of pride was fleeting. Coronavirus had already made its way to the shores of Liberia. News broke of an infection right after Foreign Policy published Liberia’s unmatched victory of Ebola.
A Liberian who recently returned from Switzerland tested positive for the virus. It gets worse. Health authorities announced he had breached protocols, refusing to be quarantined. The result of such a callous act led to Liberia’s second Coronavirus case. Anxiety ensued at the possibility of the virus spreading. Later that day, President George Weah informed the public to undertake robust measures to ensure the safety of everyone. He later ordered the closure of schools, gave the majority of government workers paid leave, and discouraged public gatherings. Within a twinkle of an eye, Liberia was back to square one.
This could have been avoidable.
Before what has now become a series of unfortunate events, health authorities always assured Liberians that the virus stands no chance of entering Liberia. The National Public Health Institute of Liberia sent out frequent text messages to the public informing us that “Coronavirus is NOT in Liberia” They said they were at the borders, airports, and seaports, checking and observing everyone making their way into the country. For a solid minute, I felt safe. This sense of safety was compounded by Konneh’s propositioning of Liberia to the West. For once, Liberia shielded me.
Our shattering experiences with the Ebola outbreak in 2014 were reassuring. I thought the government, health authorities, and every Liberian would go above and beyond to ensure that the Coronavirus did not bulldoze its way through our borders. If this virus caught the rest of the world off-guard, it would be the opposite in Liberia’s case. In Konneh’s piece lies Liberia’s robust and comprehensive response the West could replicate. We were prepared!
I was wrong.
It is worth noting that Liberia learned nothing from the Ebola crisis. If anything, the Ebola outbreak supplemented our war-trauma and rebooted our ability to cover up the scars and go.
While recording for “Premature Adults Podcast,” I was asked, “If you could share something exceptional about Liberia with the world, what would it be?” I said, “Our resilience.” Liberians ability to cope and recover from times of crisis is something I have always admired. A few months later, the host of the podcast, Arthur Mensah, returned and said he disagrees- Liberians are not resilient. He said we rarely confront our sufferings. Every event of crisis adds another layer to our unpacked trauma. He cited the lack of a functioning mental health sector in Liberia. The whole country is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and we all refuse to acknowledge it. But, I digress.
Arthur was right though.
If Liberia had a culture where we vehemently confronted our traumas, we would have leveraged the skills and strategies we gathered from dealing with Ebola. Those strategies would have urged our leaders to firmly protect our borders, put in place measures to strengthen our health sector. But instead, our borders were left vulnerable. Our leaders underestimated the intensity of the Coronavirus. The level of inhabitability of the quarantine centers reeks of incompetence. Lack of sanitation and supplies significantly contributed to why those entering the country dreaded the mere idea of being quarantined for their safety and that of others.
Four years later, even after we “combatted” Ebola, Liberia stands no chance at curbing the spread of the Coronavirus. The country’s public health infrastructure and surveillance system are severely lacking. Health workers are overworked with little incentives to perform their jobs. Hospitals have insufficient testing kits. Modern technologies to care for Liberians are non-existent.
Losing 4,000 Liberians to Ebola is no victory for us.
Liberia still bleeds at the effects of Ebola. It is frightening to imagine what another crisis would do to Liberia’s economy and development. Our realities, the culture of voting, and Liberians inability to elect veracious leaders make us susceptible to all and any crisis.
Nonetheless, each and every Liberian has a role to play in protecting ourselves and each other. Ebola taught us first-hand the harms involved in believing myths rather than following health protocols. There’s already an established lack of trust in our leaders, so one can easily grasp the difficulty in believing that the virus has entered our borders. However, I urge every Liberian- put yourself first and learn from your own experience with Ebola. Practice social distancing and constant washing of hands. Avoid public gatherings. Gather information from trusted sources. Until Liberia is declared a Coronavirus-free nation, abide by health protocols.
If you think, “I’m young, even if I am to contract the virus, chances are I’ll live,” then please think about others. Think of your parents and grandparents who don’t have those odds. Think of your family and friends with pre-existing conditions like asthma, sickle cell, diabetes, etc. Think of how they stand very little chance of surviving if they are compromised. And please, stay safe.
Authored by Suma-Garmai Massaley
Featured Picture by EL Nacional
Thanks for sharing. Great and timely piece.
However, I would have preferred we focused on this section more:
“A Liberian who recently returned from Switzerland tested positive for the virus. It gets worse. Health authorities announced he had breached protocols, refusing to be quarantined. The result of such a callous act led to Liberia’s second Coronavirus case. Anxiety ensued at the possibility of the virus spreading. Later that day, President George Weah informed the public to undertake robust measures to ensure the safety of everyone. He later ordered the closure of schools, gave the majority of government workers paid leave, and discouraged public gatherings. Within a twinkle of an eye, Liberia was back to square one.”
I’d argue that we are not at square one. What the days leading up to patient zero entering Liberia showed is that we had an organized public health body that was prepared and ready and put all of the necessary protective protocols in place at our entry points. It was with that confidence that they were able to send public texts and control the paranoia slowly creeping in. That surveillance system was born out of Ebola and tracks common infectious diseases regularly. Thanks to Ebola we even have an isolation unit where patient zero could be held under observation before further spreading it. Thanks to Ebola too, this person was smart enough to self report himself. But for that, he doesn’t deserve a medal.
The real question is why he breached out was empowered to be breach security protocols at the airport?
That makes many angry. This is what we have not learned from Ebola. Money, Title, and position do not make you impervious to disease, misfortune, or the law.
Then to fire him as if he was not enabled to be above the law is strange. That seems to be the root cause here, that some people feel they are too above the law and must get special treatment even at the expense of others. That same thinking causes people at the top to feel they deserve the money they steal and the special treatment they get when really they should be sacrificing for the masses not the other way around.
Even the people at the top fortunate enough to write the articles on Lessons learned from Liberia themselves as veteran politicians are well versed in these systems of corruption. You only need one person to break the law and it go unpunished and all else will fall.
What they should rather be doing is serving on a presidential advisory board to make sure nobody makes “the list” when an entire nation’s wellbeing is at stake.
Very much articulated nothing more to add to what you have said above, because that’s exactly what our country is experiencing right now. They be like we’re there for the people and by the people but regrettably they’re not and they’ve let those people to play international politics with us, but however we will take the best precautions.
Very well articulated Suma, I love this.