Ebola patients in Lagos are neglected and suffering

The Ebola outbreak has claimed 4 lives in Nigeria, relatives and  colleagues of the female medical doctor and other health workers who contracted the Ebola virus from Liberian Patrick Sawyer, called journalists for a press conference  in Ikoyi,Lagos .They claim the victims are left in horrible conditions and not properly taken care of .Boyo-Ekwueme, a pathologist, and one of the  relatives said bitterly

, “We are not fighting anybody. We are simply giving voice to the voiceless. Those people in isolation at the IDH cannot voice out these concerns. Let them have basic treatment. It shouldn’t be as if we just stood there and abandon them and watch them die one by one..

“They are human beings. That female doctor is a patriotic Nigerian and she needs to be helped. You people  should go there and see the surroundings where they are being treated. You would wonder if these are human beings who still have relatives.

“They are just being left on their own. Nobody is counselling them. They are just there as if they have been forgotten. We should remember that they didn’t ask to contract Ebola and it can happen to anybody. We are appealing for international help for these health workers.”

 Okuboyejo, a medical practitioner, stated

“If a health facility doesn’t have light, doesn’t have water and the sanitary system is not working properly then we have got a problem. Now the patients are critically ill and their condition is getting worse by day. People, including some medical personnel, are now running away from them.

“The reality is that the disease is beyond our capacity to handle in this country. The international community needs to rise up to our aid. The victims are not being properly treated. Forget that the Nigeria Medical Association is on strike, we cannot handle it,”

 Another family member stated

“Where is the $12m the Federal Government said it released to fight Ebola. Remember that the matron and the ECOWAS protocol officer are already dead. Do they want all of them to start dying one after the other,”