| GSPH 특집 | EBORA & KOREA


Gizachew Balew(PhD Student)	William Scheffers(Masters Student)
보건인구학연구실 (지도교수 조영태)

October 2014 marks the seventh month since the first Ebola virus case in West Africa was reported. In the nations of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone over 8000 cases have been recorded with roughly 4000 deaths[1]. This outbreak, initially a relatively isolated situation, was seemingly underestimated has now transformed into a global crisis resulting in further causalities and infections in the US and Spain. As the problem became global, governments had to prepare their respective countries’ health systems and response scenarios for the likelihood of the disease arriving on their shores.

Korea was attuned to the implications and potential global spread of the disease from the outset. On September 26^th the Korean foreign minister announced a US$5-million contribution in humanitarian aid to the UN-led international effort,[2] in addition to a US$600,000 donation made during the early stages of the outbreak. On October 17^th the Korean government pledged to send a medical team to West Africa to help with the containment effort[3]. It is undeniable that Korea has made a valuable impact on the fight against Ebola, but problems with social responses linger.

In early August Korea made headlines when Duksung Women’s University rescinded an invitation to its Nigerian delegates to attend a conference[4]. This was followed shortly by an incident at a bar in Itaewon, Seoul in which the management placed a sign outside its premises reading "We apologize but, due of Ebola virus we are not accepting Africans at the moment.”[5] On August 14^th Korean Air suspended its flights to Nairobi, Kenya – a city that still has no reported cases and that is situated roughly the same distance to Guinea as Paris, France. Two months on, similar occurrences persist with regards to the entry of Africans into the peninsula’s borders. Busan will host the United Nations ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Busan from October 20^th and South Korea’s Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning has made formal requests that delegates from the three affected nations minimize their involvement.[6] While these measures may be viewed as logical by some, the reality is that they are myopic, diplomatically damaging, and discriminatory.

HOW KOREA CAN HELP?

Korea’s ability to better manage and provide information to residents (citizens and immigrants) is important in the fight against the disease. The reduction of misinformation will not only control hysteria but also re-contextualize the narrative about Ebola. Although it is natural for any country to want to protect its borders from danger, blanket travel restrictions for Africans send the wrong message to residents. Education about the mechanism of the virus, how it is contracted, how to minimize risk of contraction etc. should be readily available on Ministry of Health or Korea Centre for Disease Control websites. (As of 2014.10.14 the only publicly available information we could find was on the HIKOREA website[7].) Availability of this information would ease tensions and help eliminate the sense of discrimination experienced by immigrants (especially West Africans) in Korea. A focus on airport screening in unison with monitoring and support service information for passengers that have travelled from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone would serve effectively in managing a potential outbreak.

Despite possessing an advanced ICT framework, Korea has not yet tried to apply this technology in the control of infectious diseases and epidemics. There is a growing interest in global health projects and with greater implementation in this area Korea could become a global innovator and leader. A creative approach that combines health care services and ICT to combat the virus would be as important a factor as humanitarian aid. Researchers have noted one of the keys to “epidemic control is rapid diagnosis”[8] – an area where mobile technology could hold the key. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that due to access challenges and socio-cultural factors underreporting could be happening at a rate of 2.5 – suggesting that the actual prevalence stands closer to 20,000[9]. Mobile technology could provide healthcare workers with tools for reporting, surveillance and other applications for the field[10]. Additionally, there is potential for Korea to participate in vaccine development. Further research into current experimental treatments could hold the key to eradicating the disease.

With the Ebola situation showing no signs of abating, Korea still has the opportunity to provide guidance in the fight. Efforts made in government halls and innovation houses in Seoul could resonate as loudly as those on the frontlines in West Africa.

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[1] http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/136161/1/roadmapupdate10Oct14_eng.pdf

[2] http://mofa.go.kr/webmodule/htsboard/template/read/engreadboard.jsp?boardid=302&typeID

=12&tableName=TYPE_ENGLISH&seqno=314289

[3] http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2014/10/17/33/0301000000AEN20141017004100315F.html

[4] http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2993332

[5] http://www.koreaobserver.com/jr-pub-says-apology-not-enough-over-racist-ban-on-africans-23154

[6] http://www.un.org/ebolaresponse/pdf/Situation_Report-Ebola-08Oct14.pdf

[7] http://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/NtcCotnDetailR_en.pt?pageSpec=&targetRow=&lafjOrderBy=&sRange=

&sKeyWord=&bbsGbCd=BS10&bbsSeq=2&ntccttSeq=52&pageCode=list&langCd=EN&bbsNm=Notice

[8] Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D, Sachs J, ‘Controlling Ebola: next steps’, Lancet Journal, 2014

[9] ‘Estimating the Future Number of Cases in the Ebola Epidemic – Liberia and Sierra Leone’, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014

[10] 'Estimating the Future Number of Cases in the Ebola Epidemic – Liberia and Sierra Leone, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014