> Why are we there when the locals hate the aid workers and actively try to fight them?
Because public health is about protecting everyone. You sound like you don't really care about the philosophical altruistic view, but the cynical reasoning works just as well here: if you can contain it in-situ, in Africa, it stops it spreading to the countries paying for the aid. Instead of gratitude from the direct recipients for how your taxes are being spent, you can instead bask in the warm glow of not catching ebola yourself.
Der_Einzige · · focus · HN ↗
Half of African leaders are AIDS/HIV denialists or cranks. Seems many seem to feel the same way about Ebola too!
<a href="https://text.npr.org/2026/05/29/g-s1-124359/ebola-outbreak-trust-death-burial-democratic-republic-congo" rel="nofollow">https://text.npr.org/2026/05/29/g-s1-124359/ebola-outbreak-t...
<a href="https://time.com/article/2026/07/22/angry-mobs-are-attacking-health-workers-in-congo-it-will-only-make-the-ebola-outbreak-worse/" rel="nofollow">https://time.com/article/2026/07/22/angry-mobs-are-attacking...
<a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-07-18/at-least-12-attacks-recorded-on-ebola-health-centers" rel="nofollow">https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-07-18/at-lea...
petesergeant · · focus · HN ↗
Because public health is about protecting everyone. You sound like you don't really care about the philosophical altruistic view, but the cynical reasoning works just as well here: if you can contain it in-situ, in Africa, it stops it spreading to the countries paying for the aid. Instead of gratitude from the direct recipients for how your taxes are being spent, you can instead bask in the warm glow of not catching ebola yourself.