The Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa, a strain previously unseen in the region, is truly frightening. Hearing about medical professionals, who should know more about Ebola than anyone else, falling helplessly in the line of duty is very scary. Ebola is another of Africa's brand killers. And it seems to take the shine off the history of a continent that has seen unprecedented growth in a post-financial crisis era, in which economic growth is in short supply. Even the historic US-Africa summit and its outcome were overshadowed by the global panic over the viral contagion. Two African heads of state from the affected countries even turned down a photo opportunity with the first American president of African blood, preferring to stay behind to lead emergency efforts against the disease, a rarity in Africa. As if to add further fear. The World Health Organization, the world's main health agency, declared the Ebola epidemic and issued a global public health emergency: an extraordinary health event, the third in recent years after swine flu and polio. The organization has also labeled the outbreak "out of control" and more recently noted that the more than 2,000 confirmed cases and more than 1,000 deaths in the three affected countries have been "largely under-reported." esteemed international NGO, has not yet signaled the end of the tunnel. MSF expects another six months to contain the virus. While Ebola has wreaked havoc at the heart of the political, health and social establishment, as a killer it pales considerably in comparison to Africa's health challenges. Without a far-sighted approach to addressing the roots of the virus, all the firefighting measures to contain Ebola could end up harming Africa more than the disease itself. Indeed, what justifies the unprecedented local, national and global (dis)attraction to Ebola. The price of farming The virus seems to have unleashed the animal within us, in the face of danger: fear, confusion and collapse. Like “sheep,” African governments individually strive to appear to be doing something: suspending air travel to key destinations, even against WHO advice that air travel poses low risks of transmission. One country issues a suspension, others follow seemingly without questions. Those seemingly rational decisions, taken by governments, citizens and companies... middle of paper... The World Bank has announced an emergency fund of 200 million dollars for the most affected countries. This is in addition to the $100 million allocated for Ebola by the World Health Organization. WHO has also asked for an additional $75 million to fill the funding gap. Bilateral partners such as the US and EU have also promised further support. Works Cited Abdul H Mussa, J.P. (2013). Vertical Financing, Non-Governmental Organizations and Health System Strengthening: Perspectives from Public Sector Health Workers in Mozambique. Human Resources for Health, 11:26.Khan et al. (1999). The reappearance of Ebola haemorrhagic fever, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995. Commission de Lutte contre les Epidemies a Kikwit. . J Infect Dis 179: Suppl 1S76–S86. Dias et al(2010). Effects of the USA PATRIOT Act and the Bioterrorism Preparedness Act of 2002 on select agent research in the United States. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 107: 9556–9561.MacNeil A, R.P. (2012). Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fevers: neglected tropical diseases? PLoS Negl Trop Dis 6(6): e1546. World Health Organization . (2012). International Health Regulations (2005) SUMMARY OF THE 2012 STATE PARTIES REPORT ON THE KEY CAPACITY OF THE IHR. Geneva: WHO.