Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is in the news because of the Ebola epidemic.  The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is taking its toll in neighboring Guinea, and Liberia as well.  Health care and aid workers are trying to contain the illness; but lack of medical equipment, transportation and other infrastructure problems inhibit their work.  However, the Ebola outbreak is more than a health issue; it is also a cultural problem.  This is why aid workers have been attacked, and even killed.

What it means to be sick or well is not the same in all cultures.  The reasons behind how people become ill also varies.   Curing methods, too, are based on cultural know-how and acceptance.  We cannot condone attacks on aid workers; but we need to understand the underlying causes for such behavior from local populations.  Sierra Leone is a “modern” Chiefdom, located in the Sub-Saharan Global Village.   Hundreds of small villages are governed separately, as well as collectively.  View a short lecture about Chiefdoms.

https://itsallaboutculture.com/bumpeh-chiefdom-sierra-leone-west-africa/

https://www.ibtimes.com/ebola-virus-new-aid-worker-attack-sierra-leone-amid-curfew-1692431?ft=3aj78&[email protected]&utm_medium=Sep_21_2014_0401_196852&utm_source=TailoredMail&utm_term=New+Attacks+On+Ebola+Aid+Workers+Reported+In+Sierra+Leone&utm_campaign=Sep_21_2014_0401

Explore More! Discover cultural issues which contribute to behaviors and attitudes across cultures, ethnicities, and populations.  Attitudes and behaviors about every human concern are part of enculturation, from birth, in every culture.