Cuba USA

Ebola, AIDS, Malaria, Cholera ... Heritage of a structural adjustment plan

By François Charles

Translation by The Network in Defense of Humanity

The elimination of public expenditure, selling and privatizing services, massive liberalization of help services for the populations. The first sectors affected are in countries of Africa and in all educational systems and, of course, health systems.

In the meantime there is no doubt that this epidemic of ebola extends throughout western Africa and is the most serious we have seen of this disease. While western foreign affairs ministers cry crocodile tears in face of the deaths and according to the constantly repeated formula of “all customary precautions are being taken to protect its citizens”. In the meantime, malaria, AIDS, cholera or measles continues to kill silently millions in all poor countries, mostly in Africa. In the meantime, once again, with the pretext of the current epidemic, the continent that suffers in silence, is threatened by an international “quarantine” or disappearance of the last health conditions, destruction of their infrastructures, lack of all kinds of supplies … Isn’t it time to that those tired of repeating these situations, ask the question “Who is responsible and why so many deaths? Negligence and unsolved demands…”

After many health NGOs (African health personnel, Medicines sans Frontier since June, the WHO …) try in vain to attract the attention of the public powers, both in Africa as in international institutions; it is obvious that we are facing the largest wave of this disease since its appearance.

It seems to be old among primates, monkeys and human beings, however, it never was considered fatal for humans until 1976 when it was identified as such in the center of Africa, primarily in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

To date, before its current pandemic, the virus had appeared dozens of times in central Africa killing hundreds of persons. Current estimates determine about 1 600 deaths. Although this figure expresses a fall, compared to the millions of deaths due to malaria and AIDS, to those “responsible” it did not seem important. In any case not enough to move sufficient energies to attack this disease.

It was in 1976 when ebola was identified as a hemorrhagic fever especially dangerous. Now 38 years later we arrive at “ebola zero year”. 38 long years that this disease has been ignored by the international community and to which no one had sent into motion a movement to halt it and eradicate it.

Beyond this macabre summary that AIDS, malaria, cholera or ebola kill more persons in Africa, it is amazing to note that after so many years there is still no treatment or vaccine!

The virulence of this disease has been known for a long time and always, “curiously” has been denied by the authorities who stupidly thought that it would be contained eternally in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Well no, responsible ladies and gentlemen there are no border papers or standing in line for the disease. It spread and what was foreseen arrived. Now the epidemic extends beyond its geographic field of action and demonstrates evidently its full dimension of disturbing capacity. We are clearly confronting an especially serious situation for the populations threatened that would be criminal to underestimate or hide.

The reports Issued regularly by the RFI, a radio station that is not known for being alarmist, are eloquent: “The WHO estimates that 20 000 cases will appear rapidly in western Africa … Regarding the ebola epidemic, according to the WHO the situation is out of control…The balance of the epidemic worsens…”

According to Professor Peter Piet, president of the Tropical Medicine School of London, events are even more obvious: “It has not been caught in time… There is a clear underestimation …There is not enough personnel on the ground, or “locals”… Today we can estimate that there are 5 000 victims of the disease who died for other reasons but who could not count on health personnel, in places to ward them, hospitals closed…”

Leaving aside the common gestures of media “solidarity” in times of crisis, in the form of televise images of “whites helping Africans”, financial aids (Do we lend complements for the debts!), the impassive envoy of medical personnel… It is clear that treatments and vaccines are more necessary that there is no program, no location, no well known laboratory, not even the most advanced have ever investigated it. Shocking omission!

The disastrous result of this “negligence” is that today more than 50% of affected persons die.

But let us not be fooled. The “negligence” of the laboratories of western nations is not by chance. It is intimately related to the expected benefits of trade operations. We still remember previous cases that are evident.

Who, in Africa fails to remember the prohibition to South Africa of treating AIDs victims?

Who doesn’t remember Bill Clinton, the democratic president “young and progressive…” of the United States who launched an implacable legal battle against the South Africa of Mandela when facing the size of the AIDs epidemic lashing his country decided to turn to generic drugs?

Together with the trusts, supporting the private pharmaceutical industry and attacking Mandela Clinton prevented a precedent that could legal bases and lower benefits of the western laboratories. And, in the case of AIDs, especially U.S. laboratories.

Defense of private interests obtained at the price of how many deaths and patients infected in the continent?

The well informed know full well that the masters of international trade consider that Africa is a continent with a strong demand …. but a demand that they qualify as “insolvent”. And, in this, from the crime committed against South Africa on behalf of the laws of international trade and the WTO we are completely sure that nothing has changed.

A continent ruined by the blackmail of the debt.

According to indications, if this time the epidemic extends more dangerously than previous ones is because it occurs at a time in which health conditions of the affected countries are considerably deteriorated or even have disappeared.

As proven that the form of transmission of the disease is essentially by contact with fluids of an infected persons, it is perfectly feasible, at first, to limit and halt it, especially through information for the population that because of lack of knowledge not always know who the infected people are nor the results of this new disease.

Naturally this plan presupposes that health systems are still function, with an operative infrastructure and enough specialized personnel. This is far from reality. Quite the contrary!.

Before the 80s and the infamous PSA (Plans of Structural Adjustment) Africa has been submitted to a real blackmail by the World Bank, the “generous”, and the IMF, its “guardian of prisoners”.

The example of Cameroon is an authentic manual of the methods of the World Bank and IMF directed to the extortion of funds and perpetual maintenance of its victims in destitution.*

The World Bank with the collaboration of the local powers imposed by the colonizers begins by seriously indebting the countries. In the first place they must comply with the debt. Once the expenditures made and all the money spent and sidetracked they have to go to the vault… and it is empty! To comply with the debt the World Bank has the simplest solution “more loans”. They fall in an infernal trap. To obtain a new loan from the World Bank they must “behave” and submit to “expert loan sharks”. Forget expenses!

Eliminate the public expenditures; privatize all the services, selling them, massive liberalization of the services of aid to the populations… The first sectors affected are all the countries in Africa and other parts of the world are the educational systems and, of course, public health systems.

The example of Guinea is famous as one of the focuses of the epidemic that particularly explains the whole of the continent.

While the WHO and the CDEAO suggest a minimum of 15% in expenses of the state dedicated to health. Guinea assigns … less that 3%!

It is also obvious that when the disease appears less than 3% of the population have had access to social coverage; also the trained personnel are flat broke; that the health structures left are obvious of the worse quality…All these elements explains the distrust of the population regarding the local structures and few possibility of acquiring the available medication and preventive information.,

Continuing with the example of Guinea, the general ruin of the public health system, cholera that had not disappeared but widely reduced, has reappeared lethally and in 2012 there were 8 000 cases and 150 deaths (according to official figures).

Measles, that today lashes Guinea, is also “installed” in most countries of western Africa. How is it possible to imagine that populations in 2014 continue without vaccine programs? Is it admissible to consider “normal” that African children die of measles?

We must not forget malaria, an open wound in the African Sub Saharan populations that only in Guinea kills (always official figures) more than 30 000 persons a year. And according to the WHO the rate of mortality from malaria reaches 170 deaths for every 100 000 inhabitants.

Unfortunately Guinea is not an isolated case. We must remember Liberia at the beginning of the epidemic that had in its territory less than 50 doctors!

Africans pay a high price of indebtedness of their states. We are far from the “Objectives of Development of the Millennium” of the United Nations that advocated measures and expenditures in education and public health for 2000 that they knew was unreachable …through the reimbursement of the debt! The system is very simple: “recover with one hand while you lend with the other hand, of course, the first to recover is what is leant. That is the way it was always ruined and forced to the indebtedness of survival.”

The hypocrisy of the powerful is absolutely shameful.

Another consequence of the current health crisis is the fall of what was left of the systems of public health. Thus it is due to the fear of disease that hospitals are left in the rubble of abandoned desserts, without personnel or in operation.

A situation explained by Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, public health minister of Liberia: “the entire health sector is devastated by the crisis. People die of common diseases because the public health system is floundering”.

With the rope around the neck, an illegal debt to “reimburse”, plundered to the hilt and extorted by the banks, Africa dies and continues being ravaged by the trade sharks in an “insolvent” continent.

The time has come to straighten what was backwards and begin to consider that Africa be in charge of her own affairs. That management of Africa, its public health, its riches, its populations… return at last to the Africans.

And, if in the end, the all the Africans decide not to “comply” with that hateful debt?

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