Humanitarian Health Lessons Learned: Ebola

Why learning is key to the strategic shift in how the world manages health crises

Reda SadkiGlobal health

This is the second in a series of five blog posts reflecting on what is at stake in how we learn lessons from the Ebola crisis that erupted in 2014 and continued in 2015. A new blog post will be published each morning this week (subscribe here). “Whereas health is considered the sovereign responsibility of countries, the means to fulfill this responsibility are increasingly global, and require international collective action and effective and efficient governance of the global health system.” (Stocking 2015:10) “Effective crisis management for health”, writes the World Health Organization in its management response to the Stocking report, “requires a series of strategic shifts” (Chan 2015:5). Calls for substantial modernization of emergency management capacity and preparedness have focused on resources to ensure rapid mobilization for the provision of logistics, operational support, and community mobilization. Yet, “the primary lesson so far has not been about the need for new response methods, but about human resources …

Humanitarian Health Lessons Learned: Ebola

Lessons learned from Ebola

Reda SadkiGlobal health

This is the first in a series of five blog posts reflecting on what is at stake in how we learn lessons from the Ebola crisis that erupted in 2014 and continued in 2015. A new blog post will be published each morning this week (subscribe here). The unprecedented complexity and scale of the current Ebola outbreak demonstrated that existing capacities of organizations with technical, normative culture, methods and approaches are not necessarily scalable or adaptable to novel or larger challenges. Large and complex public health emergencies are different each time. Each new event poses specific problems. Hence, traditional approaches to standardize “best practice” are unlikely to succeed. What are the appropriate mechanisms for learning from each of them? More broadly, how do we change the capacity of individuals and systems to learn? “Huge praise is due to those who have responded to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. At the …

Tuberculosis in Algeria

Colonialism and disease: tuberculosis in Algeria

Reda SadkiGlobal health

Tuberculosis in Algeria as part of colonization: high death rates and false explanations During French colonial rule in Algeria (1830-1962), tuberculosis became a major killer disease. The French brought this deadly sickness with them when they invaded Algeria. Before the French came, tuberculosis was not a big problem for Algerian people. The disease spread quickly through Algerian communities during colonial times. By the 1930s and 1940s, studies showed that tuberculosis infection rates were very high. In 1938, about 5 out of every 100 Algerian people got infected with tuberculosis each year. By 1948, this number was still about 4 out of every 100 people. Around 300 out of every 100,000 Algerians got tuberculosis each year before independence. Why tuberculosis in Algeria spread so fast under colonial rule The French colonial system created perfect conditions for tuberculosis to spread among Algerian people. The colonial government took away good land from Algerians …