What Africa Really Needs To Fight Ebola

Posted by timothy on Saturday January 17, 2015 @08:00AM from the infrastructure-matters dept.

Lasrick writes Laura Kahn, a physician on the research staff of Princeton University's Program on Science and Global Security, writes that the high tech solutions being promoted to help fight Ebola in Africa will make no difference. What Africa really needs is anti-corruption efforts, now. "A case in point is Liberia, which has received billions of dollars in international aid for over a decade, with little to show for it. The country ranks near the bottom of the United Nation's Human Development Index and near the bottom of Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer. And while international aid groups and non-governmental organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and the International Medical Corps provide important humanitarian assistance and medical care, they also inadvertently absolve African political leaders from developing medical and public health infrastructures."

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Traditions in Africa Leadership by BoRegardless · 2015-01-17 08:13 · Score: 4, Informative

Right. It has always been a tradition for the top tribal leader to line his and his family's pockets.
The RIver of Myths by Corporate+T00l · 2015-01-17 08:20 · Score: 4, Informative

Anti-corruption efforts are certainly important, especially in improving the economic conditions in a country. But focusing too strongly on just a single issue makes the problem seem unsolvable.
It is not.
World metrics have been improving steadily, some countries and regions faster than others, but systemic improvements have been dramatic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYpX4l2UeZg