What do the back waters of the Congo River have in common with fears of a global epidemic that could wipe out millions of vulnerable people? It’s “Ebola”. For the Ebola River runs into the Congo and it is here that the Ebola virus was first identified in 1976.

Ebola is a viral illness that kills people living without adequate medical facilities. In the next year some 1.4 million could be infected. To date around 4,000 people have died.

International aid organizations are pointing to a very bleak future as appeals for immediate help are being made. The Ebola crisis could become the “definitive humanitarian disaster of our generation” says one aid worker as a lot work still needs to be done on the development of vaccines to combat the disease.

But sadly, the crisis is plagued by irrational fear, a lack of funds and a shortage of professional health care personnel on the ground. Western governments, including Australia, seem more intent on stopping the epidemic at their borders than stemming the tide in West Africa.

Ebola is actually said to be harder to catch than a common cold. This is because it’s transmitted from human to human by bodily fluids. The big issue is that health care infrastructure and medical facilities in West Africa are inadequate. They are run down and unable to meet the needs of such a crisis.

So, what’s required is money to fund proper facilities in these places. Moreover, professional health care personnel are desperately needed to fight the spread of the virus. The present system in West Africa just cannot cope.

The United Nations says the world has just 60 days to get the Ebola outbreak under control. Otherwise many, many more vulnerable people will die. In the meantime traditional communities are being devastated as West African societies break down.

Surely, with the wisdom, the creativity and the resources that God provides together with the mercy and the compassion that God requires, Ebola can be beaten.

As followers of Jesus let us do what we can to support and care for those who are victims of this terrible scourge.

More information can be found on the Oxfam and the Red Cross web sites:

https://www.oxfam.org.au
http://www.redcross.org.au

John Barr