The international Ebola outbreak has drawn attention to students from the University of British Colombia’s (UBC) School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) who hosted a flash mob entitled “See Doc Run” on Sept. 23 at the university’s Point Grey campus.
The demonstration included students dressed as doctors, chasing other students dressed as the Ebola virus and yelling, “We’re coming for you, Ebola!”
The demonstration “aimed to counter the on-going apathy and lack of international response to the Ebola crisis, and encourage political action,” according to a statement from the organizers of the event.
Event organizer Nicole Markwick, research assistant at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS said in an interview with the Ubyssey, “In no way are we trying to trivialize [the issue] at all. In fact, what we’re trying to do is overcome this incredible apathy and media burnout by putting a different spin on an important issue to get the level of response that is desperately needed.”
She said their goal is to convince the Canadian Government to deploy medical responders from the Disaster Assistance Response Team to supply other countries with the appropriate equipment and training needed to contain the Ebola virus. According to international news agency Reuters, out of the projected $600,000,000 needed to treat the virus, only about $110,000,000 has been approved for funding.
Since the initial report on Aug. 26, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed 7,179 individuals around the world have been infected from countries including: Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, and Nigeria with the first reported case in Dallas, Texas, USA on Sept. 30. The death toll is 3,338 and rising.
The CDC also released a statement on Oct. 2 that the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported cases of Ebola, but states that they are not related to the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa.
Students at McMaster University and the University of Guelph were inspired to host their own flash mobs on Sept. 30. Campus outreach continues for other universities such as the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, and University of Toronto.
In addition, Markwick has started up a petition urging the prime minister to help Ebola efforts in West Africa, which has drawn more than 70 supporters. She is also encouraging the public to take further action by challenging others to host their own flash mobs, writing to local media outlets, and donating to medical aid organizations.
