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SSHAP

Balancing Burial Rituals with Public Health Demands During the 2014 Guinean Ebola Epidemic

Description

This SSHAP Case Study explains how an anthropologist negotiated a medically safe burial for a pregnant woman who had died of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in a Kissi community at the beginning of the 2014 Ebola epidemic in Guinea. The epidemiological protocol to organise a safe burial for a deceased pregnant woman with suspected EVD clashed with the local community’s need for a ritual burial following a post-mortem caesarean. A tense stand-off occurred. According to Kissi culture, when a pregnant woman dies the foetus should be removed before burial, to avoid a curse on the community.

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DETAILS

Publication

2020

Authors

Anoko, J., Henry, D.

Emergency

Epidemics, Ebola

Scope

Social science

Language

French, English

Region

West & Central Africa

Keywords

Guinea, Behaviours, social science research, Community engagement, Disease outbreaks, Emergency response, FAQ, Ebola