The ‘Humanitarian’ Response to the Ebola Epidemic in Guinea

Jean-Francois Caremel , Sylvain Landry B. Faye (1) , Ramatou Ouedraogo (2)

1 UCAD - Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar [Sénégal]
2 LAM - Les Afriques dans le monde

Through anthropological analysis, this chapter questions the “exceptionality” of the response to the Ebola epidemic in Guinea. By comparing biomedical and popular representations, it highlights blind spots in the international response. The first part analyzes the disconnect in risk construction and the modes of response between local populations and international actors. These developments highlight the tension that existed between conflicting representations of the state and its role in the response “Apparatus.” The second part examines how the response was progressively routinized, and how this routine created a partial announced success. The final section questions the label of “exception” applied to this epidemic and the manner in which this exceptionalism was constructed irrespective of the reality of local context.

Domaines: Science politique; Anthropologie sociale et ethnologie

Jean-Francois Caremel, Sylvain Landry B. Faye, Ramatou Ouedraogo. The ‘Humanitarian’ Response to the Ebola Epidemic in Guinea. Michiel Hofman; Sokhieng Au. The Politics of Fear: Médecins sans frontières and the West African Ebola Epidemic, Oxford University Press, pp.63-84, 2017, 978-2-507-05468-7. ⟨10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190624477.003.0004⟩. ⟨halshs-02385351⟩