International political economy and the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak

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Periodical article

Title:	International political economy and the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak
Authors:	Benton, Adia Dionne, Kim Yi
Year:	2015
Periodical:	African Studies Review (ISSN 1555-2462)
Volume:	58
Issue:	1
Pages:	223-236
Language:	English
Geographic term:	West Africa
Subjects:	Ebola epidemics health policy
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1017/asr.2015.11
Abstract:	Analysts attribute the Ebola outbreak's severity to slow response by domestic and international decision makers and to the persistent poor health care conditions in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. In this commentary, the autors demonstrate how these conditions are shaped by historical and contemporary contexts of international political economy. After providing a brief background on the epidemic and then setting the scene that led to the emergence of Ebola in West Africa in 2014, the authors document the response by domestic and international decision makers to the outbreak, identifying critical junctures in which domestic and international responses - in the forms of action and inaction - produced the current and rapidly evolving situation. They conclude by discussing policy implications of this response and potential directions for future research. Bibliogr., notes, ref. [Journal abstract]