Our Africa problem

For starters, Africa is a continent, not a country. That too a pretty large one. It is big enough to hold a United States, India, China, Eastern and Western Europe and Japan and still have room for a few Singapores and Dubais. Second, this may come as a surprise, but it has many countries, 47 on the mainland, 54 if you include the islands. Third, and perhaps most shockingly to many of us, the Ebola outbreak is exclusively in West Africa, with the epicentre in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Immediate neighbours of these three countries are at high risk, but have done an amazing job in either keeping it out (Ivory Coast, for example) or containing, managing and wiping out (Nigeria is a case in point). The distances between the regions of outbreak are a lot closer to Europe than they are within Africa. Nairobi is farther from Monrovia (Liberia) than Madrid. Rome is a lot closer to Freetown (Sierra Leone) than Dar es Salam.



So what does this have to do with Pakistan? As it turns out, Zulfiqar Ahmad, a resident of Chiniot, was “declared” Pakistan’s first Ebola patient about a week ago, well before there were any tests. He was indeed sick and had returned from Africa recently, and that was enough to condemn him. Who wouldn’t? You have fever, you are sick, you come from Africa, you must have Ebola! The articles in newspapers and stories on the sensationophile media used all in their power to decry how we are now in the short list of countries facing the potential impact of this deadly virus. The poor man died soon after being admitted to hospital.

Only later did it emerge that he actually had dengue and Hepatitis C (problems well known in Pakistan) and not Ebola. It also turned out that he had not visited any of the three countries with the Ebola outbreak. He had returned from Togo recently which, by the way, has not had a single case of Ebola. So what is up with all the anti-Africa hysteria and paranoia? If you read the comments on the news about Ebola, they range from despair to many proposing an outright ban on all traffic from Africa to quarantining anyone coming from the continent. Really? Would we want to quarantine or stop anyone coming from Cairo which, incidentally, happens to be in Africa? What about the Pakistanis who arrive in their country, since the Ebola outbreak, from Libya? What about those who travel to Cape Town for business or vacation? Since Africa is a lot closer to the Middle East, perhaps we should rethink our strategy for anyone coming from there as well. Let our decisions be based on impulse and ignorance. Knowledge has no place in decision-making.

In the quest for ‘we broke the news first’, our media outlets may be doing more damage than service. I am all for transparency in news, fairness in reporting and purity in facts, but I am also for knowledge, fact-checking and due diligence. Knowing that Africa, as a whole, does not have an Ebola epidemic and Togo has not had any reported cases, should have caused an editor to question the authenticity of the story.

Finally, a point about our health authorities. Certainly, being vigilant and proactive is what these times ask for, but not having the capacity to distinguish between diseases can make a difference between life and death. In a society ready to jump to conclusions, often without facts, this may also create stigma and intolerance.

While information and knowledge can come handy at these times, the lack of these essential qualities has never stopped us from reaching final and irrevocable conclusions. I am all for staying on top of the crisis and being as prepared as we can be, but how about letting some real knowledge, facts and expertise contribute to our reactions and decisions?

But, I understand that in the end, conspiracy and ignorance, are a lot more flavourful than the boring realities. We should not let facts get in the way of our opinions.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th,  2014.

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