Main description:

This book provides a timely examination of the Ebola pandemic in Sierra Leone from four different standpoints: 1) a social standpoint that focuses on the way in which the vulnerable Sierra Leonian population viewed the pandemic in light of their cultural beliefs, memories of past wars and narratives and actions of the government; 2) a good governance standpoint that exposes lapses in health governance and the general unpreparedness of the government and international community to deal with the outbreak; 3) a scientific research standpoint that looks at the role played by the Sierra Leone's Lassa Fever Research Laboratories as a main hub for the investigation, monitoring and evaluation of communicable diseases in the Mano River Union countries; and 4) an international politics standpoint that examines the development of a new bio-security international apparatus involving a wide range of international actors and institutions.

Contents:

1. Introduction
1.1 'What The Death of 'Patient Zero' Taught Us?'1.2 Significance of the Book1.3 Methodological Considerations1.4 Structure of the Book
2. The Ebola Pandemic: Meaning, Origins, and the Pathways of Eruption and Spread
2.1 Meaning: What is Ebola?2.2 Historical Origins: From The Congo to Sierra Leone2.3 Ebola in Sierra Leone: The Social and Political Pathways of Eruption and Spread2.3.1 The Lack of an Effective Health Sector2.3.2 The Kenema Laboratory/Kenema Hospital2.3.3 Corruption in the Public Health Sector2.3.4 Cultural Belief Systems and Traditional Medical Alternatives2.3.5 Migration and The Environment, and Their Health Consequences
3. Representations: Between Uncertainty, Epistemology, and Political Dominance
3.1 Local Representations
3.2 International Representations
4. Interventions: How Actors Mediated Between and Honored Humanitarian Action, Political Interests, and Medical Scientific Knowledge
4.1 The Government of Sierra Leone
4.2 The World Health Organisation 4.3 Medecins sans Frontieres4.4 The United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER)4.5 The United States of America4.6 Great Britain4.7 Aspen Medical of Australia4.8 China4.9 Cuba
5. The Aftermath: The Proposed Pathway to Public Health Recovery 2015-2020
5.1 From the Abyss and on the Road to Recovery
5.2 Financing The Health Sector for an Effective Post-Ebola Public Health Sector governance
6. Conclusions