Browsing by Author "Coetzee, Tanya"
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- ItemAn ethical analysis of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Coetzee, Tanya; Hall, Susan; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The recent phenomenon of Ebola Viral Disease’s (EVD) rapid spread and difficulty in containment in the West Africa countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone during 2014 drew the attention of the international community. Various ethical questions were raised as to how the disease spiralled out of control and the reasons for the severity of the outbreak. The study evaluated three main areas of ethical concern: ethical issues relevant to the healthcare workers, the status of the public healthcare systems and the social determinants of health in the affected countries, and the role of the global community and global bioethics. Findings indicated that moving away from the normal day-to-day routine of medical care to disaster situations calls for different standard of practise. Medical ethics codes are currently insufficient to assist healthcare workers with rapid decision-making. The healthcare systems and key health determinants in the affected areas indicated that these regions were woefully unprepared to face the deadly EVD outbreak. The failed public healthcare systems and poor infrastructure and history of political instability in the three regions must be interpreted not just as a political failure, but as an ethical failure. The access to basic household services and healthcare infrastructure in the affected regions in West Africa and in most of Africa is a critical component in ensuring global health justice. The importance of global bioethics on the agenda of governments and organisations is critical to ensure global health.