Mistrusting the process: containing Congo’s Ebola outbreak
6/1/202621 min
Aid is ramping up to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and vaccine work is progressing. But what the Ebola response most lacks is trust of the community. European governments and businesses are wary of their dependence on America’s tech giants; we examine a spate of home-grown efforts. And sticky toffee pudding, a staid British classic, gets a sweet social-media boost.
Guests and host:
- John McDermott, chief Africa correspondent
- Christian Odendahl, European economics editor
- Ọrẹ Ogunbiyi, Africa correspondent and sticky toffee pudding enthusiast
- Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Topics covered:
- Ebola outbreak, Democratic Republic of Congo, epidemiology, vaccines
- European technology, American tech giants, technological sovereignty
- sticky toffee pudding
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJason Palmer· Host0:00
[upbeat music] The Economist. [upbeat music] Hello and welcome to The Intelligence from The Economist. I'm Jason Palmer. [upbeat music] Today on the show, how Europe is trying to wean itself off American tech, and the resurgent phenomenon that is the sticky toffee pudding. [upbeat music] First up, though. [crowd shouting] In the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, attempts to control a worrisome outbreak of Ebola are being hampered by the very people they're meant to help. Medical tents on fire, burned out beds, the sporadic warning shots of police. [on loudspeaker] Health officials know that safely burying Ebola victims is crucial. Contact with bodies can spread the disease further. But local custom often has it that community members ritually wash the dead, and more to the point, they don't trust the warnings that authorities are giving them. And so you get scenes like this in Rumpara, with fights over a burial, arson and protest met with tear gas.