Dr Myfanwy James featured in The Continent on Ebola outbreak

Dr Myfanwy James has been interviewed and quoted in a recent edition of The Continent, an African newspaper, on the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The article, “Ebola: Short-term panic, long-term neglect”, explores the dynamics of the current outbreak in eastern DRC and Uganda, highlighting the complex challenges of disease surveillance, vaccine development, and community trust.

Drawing on her research, Dr Myfanwy James explains how local scepticism and hostility towards epidemic responses is not mere “misinformation” to be corrected, but “forms of truth-telling” that reflect political and historical experiences. The idea of Ebola as a “business” for enrichment, for example, speaks to the very real distortions and incentive structures created by epidemic responses. During the Ebola epidemic in the area in 2018-2020, for example, the billion-dollar response produced an industry of rental contracts at inflated prices, security contracts, job kickback schemes, and political side payments. Many people in the region concluded that responders and national elites had incentives to prolong the outbreak, or even invent Ebola altogether, to enrich themselves.

Dr James’s contribution ultimately highlights the importance of understanding the social, political and historical context of epidemics, the way this shapes local trust in a public health response, and thus the ability of global health actors to prevent further transmission.

Alongside this, Dr James is part of a group of scholars who have produced a contextual briefing on the Ebola outbreak for policymakers and practitioners engaged in the response. Published in both English and French, the briefing provides practical insights to inform on-the-ground decision-making.