Title: Experiences of the Ebola victims in the West African nations: a human rights imperative

Authors: Gloria C. Nwafor; Anthony O. Nwafor

Addresses: School of Law, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa ' School of Law, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa

Abstract: The outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the West African sub-region has thrown up issues of human rights challenges. Inadequate information on the causes of the disease and the status of the surviving victims has led to ostracisation of the victims and their relatives in the society. The paper recounts the experiences of the victims through anecdotal evidence and examines the human rights implications. A conclusion is drawn that the exclusion of the victims of Ebola from benefits enjoyed by other members of the society amounts to discrimination. The continued stigmatisation of the surviving persons and their relatives has the tendency of deterring victims of Ebola and others upon the occurrence of issues of public health emergency from voluntarily disclosing their health status. This will result in an unpleasant consequence of aggravating, rather than mitigating, the spread of viral diseases in the society.

Keywords: Ebola; victims; discrimination; stigmatisation; human rights; Africa.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPLAP.2017.085612

International Journal of Public Law and Policy, 2017 Vol.6 No.1, pp.78 - 98

Received: 13 Jan 2017
Accepted: 11 Apr 2017
Published online: 01 Aug 2017 *

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