Thursday, November 13, 2014

I Object!

Joe Penney of Reuters in his  article yesterday on http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/12/us-health-ebola-mali-idUSKCN0IW12C20141112is failing to make the important point that these last cases were dealt with in the private sector, and that the reason for this debacle is most likely to be a cover-up by the private clinic. Instead he throws totally unwarranted blame on the whole  Malian Medical Corps, by using an anonymous source:

"This case shows the lack of training of doctors in Bamako. This training should have been done six months ago," one aid worker told Reuters, asking not to be named'

What nonsense. I object to this scurrilous  treatment of the Malian medical corps who may not be perfect but certainly know  what is required in order to deal with an Ebola case. If there have been misdemeanours, please put the blame on the correct  culprit, i.e. the Clinic Pasteur in this case!  This is just typical of the sort of knee jerk racist ideas that sits so comfortably with the international press and community: Malians are useless. The Army is useless, of course everyone know that. So let's just continue now on our well worn track down the same alleyway and suggest, this time without the least bit of evidence, that the Malian medical Corps is as useless as its Army!

11 Comments:

Blogger latrouss said...

Look, HIV has killed too many people in western countries before it was known. Almost everyone knows the symptoms. But in a country with fever being the first motive of doctor's visit, should you test everyone for Ebola. And then will come the cost issue and the logistics issue. Here, I agree with Toubab that the Clinic Pasteur is the most to blame for trying to hide this for their "prestige" and a little bit the border health control for letting him enter (symptomatic or not, who knows). I know Toubab does not agree with me, but the government should have pushed seriously the campain against Ebola at the border because this is where the firs entered. I do not say close borders but be really watchful and criminalize these cases.

5:17 PM  
Blogger toubab said...

Not every case with fever should be tested, of course that would be impossible. You are quite right in saying that fever is the main reason for a doctor's visit here, and thank you for your comment Latrouss. The symptoms of ebola are indeed initially the same as for many other diseases- BUT a fever case arriving from Guinea should most definitely be tested and it was not!
I also agree with you that cases like these which jeopardize the safety of the Malian nation should most definitely be criminalized! But knowing the mentality of the Malians it will probably not happen.I am undecided on the border question at the moment...

5:38 PM  
Blogger Tabor said...

I have been slowly reading your blog from the beginning backwards toward this post. Your life's adventure is most fascinating. (Not total;y done reading yet) But I came across this link and wondered if you were aware of this talented photographer since he is from your area and also has some art in his veins. Seydou Keita
http://www.seydoukeitaphotographer.com/#17

12:13 PM  
Blogger toubab said...

Thank you Tabor for directing me to his website. Yes indeed,a fabulous photographer! He died before my time here, but I know Malik Sidibe, the other great Malian photographer who is still alive but quite frail now. I commissioned him to come to the hotel and photograph it in 2007- there should be something about it around August 2007 on the blog. He made a great portrait of me and my husband Keita.
Thank you for reading my blog!

2:32 PM  
Blogger roguekira said...

Dear Sophie this might interest you, in case you didn't read it allready...
Herzliche Grüße C.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/11/141115-ebola-mali-guinea-vaccine-disease-imam-outbreak/

10:00 PM  
Blogger toubab said...

Dear Rougekira,
thank you for the link- have tried but cannot open at the moment - terrible connection here!

10:24 PM  
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