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During a recent Medical Grand Rounds, Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at BWH and co-founder of Partners In Health (PIH), spoke about the reasons Ebola Virus Disease has spread so rapidly in West Africa and what can be done to prevent it from impacting even more people.
“The causes of this epidemic are weak health systems and the lack of staff, ‘stuff,’ space and systems that are required to deliver supportive care effectively and isolate patients,” Farmer said.
PIH and other organizations are working in West Africa to figure out ways to integrate modern medicine into the areas that have been hit hardest by the epidemic, so that people feel safe and comfortable being treated for Ebola in local hospitals, where experts are ready to care for them. Farmer, who recently returned to the U.S. after visiting West Africa, said many people with Ebola there have avoided hospitals because they frequently are understaffed, poorly supplied and have little to offer.
If there’s no connection between modern medicine and the community in which it is practiced, there will be a disconnect between patients and care providers, Farmer explained. “And added to that is the fear of this disease, which you actually see fairly often with these types of epidemics.”
Farmer also talked about the history of Ebola and the symptoms of the disease, and answered questions from the audience.
Farmer said PIH is working with partners in Liberia and Sierra Leone to treat patients affected by Ebola, train community health workers and deliver quality care. He ended rounds by thanking BWH for its continued support of PIH’s mission over the years.
Learn more about PIH here.