The Political Economy of Infectious Diseases in Africa: Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) as a Case in Point

Abstract

Annually, many deaths occur in Africa due to infectious diseases. African countries are predominantly low-income. A third of all deaths in low-income countries are caused by lower respiratory infections, HIV/AIDS, diarrheal diseases, malaria and tuberculosis. These preventable diseases continue to kill millions of Africans each year. More recently, Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has killed thousands in Africa but even with the number of deaths attributable to EVD, it is still a fraction of the deaths caused by any one of the top five causes of deaths in low-income countries. This chapter examined the political economies that have enabled infectious diseases to thrive in Africa. The numerous conflicts, barriers to education, high fertility rates in the poorest countries and the privatization-tied conditions of loans were some of the factors identified. Ecological studies also suggest that changes in climatic conditions around the West African country of Guinea enabled the index case to come from Guinea. The foundational causes of the diseases have made the African nations susceptible. The chapter concludes with recommendations.