The Unintended Consequences of the Isolationist Policy Initiatives of African Union Countries during the Ebola Outbreak

The Unintended Consequences of the Isolationist Policy Initiatives of African Union Countries during the Ebola Outbreak

By E. Stanley Ukeni

It seems like the Ebola Virus Disease pandemic is finally abating. This victory over this deadly disease is a victory for all African on the continent, because the injury of one is supposed to be the hurt wound of all Africans.  Now, perhaps it’s time to begin to reflect on some of the lessons to be learnt from the dreadful outbreak.

I consider this pathogenic scourge to be the first continental crisis of the twenty-first century, for Africa. In this crisis, I’m sorry to observe that the collective leadership of Africa failed this critical test of its singular will to present a unified front in tackling a formidable problem that threated the wellbeing of its citizenry. To put it more succinctly, it was a colossal failure in leadership. But, let’s not dwell in the past. We must rather use the wisdom gained from how past events were managed to prepare for future challenges. I am a firm believer that in other to grow and evolve, we all have to be willing to learn from past mistakes and missteps—our and those of others.

My focus with this discuss is on the panic reaction by the governments of different African countries. In the face of a seeming existential threat to the continent’s populace, the whole notion of unity and shared resolve were reduced to mere rhetorical slogans. The leaderships of many of the countries that constitute the African Union unilaterally decided to shut their borders to the citizens of the other plague ridden countries. This unfortunate move, though understandable, goes against the spirit of the notion of a Union of States designed to advance common and shared interests and objectives.     

It is understandable that our survival instinct generally compel us to react, often irrationally, when confronted with possible existential threat. However, it has been proven true that that panic reaction occasionally lead to unintended consequences which might further complicate the initial situation that one was aiming to militate against.

Case in point, the panic reactions of various African governments to restrict the free movement of people and commodities from and to Ebola affected countries led an unintended inflationary price hikes in the cost of such staple foods items as rice, cassava and maize in countries where there are no know outbreaks of the Ebola Virus Disease, as restricted, or outright ban no, cross border trades put supply pressure on staple food commodities. A lack of cohesive management of the crisis by the leadership of the African Union led to an undue economic hardship for the within the worst affected countries and beyond.

Many who were already struggling to feed themselves and their family, found it even more difficult to do so, at a time when their bodies were already stressed by fear and tension. As hunger became a secondary scourge in these effected countries, there was no concerted effort by the other African Union countries to mobilize and deliver food items to the suffering masses. The poor were left to fend for themselves at a time when most sources of income dried up due to governments’ quarantine efforts. I dare to suggest that, perhaps the reason that it was even more challenging to contain the disease was because many, faced with the specter of starvation, decided to break quarantine in other to find food for their dependents—as making it more difficult to contain the epidemic.   

This scenario played out over and over again in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea—the three West African countries most affected by the Ebola epidemic. For instant, it became evident, rather late, I think that the hastily implemented restrictions placed on the movement of people—with the aim of containing the spread of the Ebola scourge, equally prevented farmers from securing the necessary labor force needed to harvest their crops at this crucial harvest season. This undoubtedly negatively affected crop harvest—with the labor intensive maize and rice harvests most affected.

Equally, the internal migration restrictions imposed by governments within these three countries impeded the ability of subsistent farmers and traders getting their meager food produce to markets where their commodities are most in demand. We can imagine how their inability to trade would adversely affect the already harsh economic situation of these small scale farmers and trader.

Consequently, food prices began to spike as food shortages begin to occur, and panic buying setting in. We saw this scenario play out in the hard-hit Ebola epidemic zones. So, rather than focus primarily on safe-guarding their loved ones from the dreaded Ebola pandemic, many choose instead to focus their efforts in feeding their families. What occurred in the three Ebola disease stricken regions could have quickly replicated in other West African countries as the region’s food supply whittled, by thankfully it did not occur. We all truly dodged the bullet there.   

Some might read the preceding paragraph and consider it alarmist. But I assure you that is not the case. If you recall, On Tuesday, September 2^nd, 2014, the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) raised a special alarm that the Ebola outbreak was putting food harvests in West Africa at serious risk—warning that the problem could intensify in the coming months. The FAO also pointed out that, the price of Cassava at a market in the Liberian capital Monrovia rose One hundred fifty (150) percent in the first weeks of August, 2014.

The head of an FAO unit in Dakar, Senegal which is coordinating the agency’s response to the food crisis, Vincent Martin, said in a statement that, “Even prior to the Ebola outbreak, households in some of the most affected areas were spending up to eighty (80) percent of their incomes on food. Now these latest price hikes are effectively putting food completely out of their reach.”

Sure the Ebola epidemic may have significantly abated. But this is not the time to celebrate our triumph over this dreadful epidemic. It time to think through how the Union of African States responded to the Ebola pandemic. The leadership of African States—particularly, the governments of West African countries, must look critically on their implementation of isolationist polities, with the view of learning from past mistakes. Diplomatic and policy differences must now be set aside, and trust amongst African Union member States needs to be restored where they are damaged.

It is imperative now for African Union member States to evolve transparent strategies for managing and responding to future continental-wide crisis, so as to prevent an unintended consequence that would have a far-reaching negative effect on the economies of the AU member countries. The next continental-wide crisis of the twenty-first century might not be too far off in the future. This is the time to prepare for it—whatever it might be.

Authored by E. Stanley Ukeni, ©2015. All Rights Reserved.