“Imagine someone saying to your child, you are from Liberia, do you have the disease?.. ” these were the words of a Liberian mother who expressed deep hurt over the rate of stereotype people receive because of the recent Ebola Virus Disease that struck some African nations.
One of the major effects of the Ebola Virus Disease is that it has caused serious stigmatization among people especially those from the affected areas like Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone. People dread themselves like leprosy nowadays for fear of contracting the virus because everyone is at risk.
Although Nigeria was among the nations hit by the virus, she has successfully contained the virus through joint efforts by the federal government and the citizens.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization declared her Ebola-free on Monday, October 20, 2014 having passed through the 21-day window twice without the record of any fresh case.
The current outbreak of the virus is said to be the deadliest ever in history as over 4,000 lives have been lost to the disease.
However, here is a video that urges people to stop stigmatization. Excerpts from the video say “we are not all infected, it is wrong to stereotype and stigmatize…I am a Liberian, Not a Virus…”
