{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]],"date-time":"2026-03-20T00:57:59Z","timestamp":1773968279591,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":10,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"4","content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["J Med Ethics"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2014,8,20]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2016,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>The recent wave of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Western Africa and efforts to control the disease where the health system requires strengthening raises a number of ethical challenges for healthcare workers practicing in these countries. We discuss the implications of weak health systems for controlling EVD and limitations of the ethical obligation to provide care for patients with EVD using Nigeria as a case study. We highlight the right of healthcare workers to protection that should be obligatorily provided by the government. Where the national government cannot meet this obligation, healthcare workers only have a moral and not a professional obligation to provide care to patients with EVD. The national government also has an obligation to adequately compensate healthcare workers that become infected in the course of duty. Institutionalisation of policies that protect healthcare workers are required for effective control of the spread of highly contagious diseases like EVD in a timely manner.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/medethics-2014-102434","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,9,9]],"date-time":"2014-09-09T22:27:40Z","timestamp":1410301660000},"page":"209-210","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":29,"title":["The Ebola outbreak in Western Africa: ethical obligations for care"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"42","author":[{"given":"Aminu","family":"Yakubu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"National Health Research Ethics Committee, Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Secretariat, Abuja, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Morenike Oluwatoyin","family":"Folayan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Public Health and Department of Child Dental Health, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nasir","family":"Sani-Gwarzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Port Health Services Division, Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Secretariat, Abuja, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Patrick","family":"Nguku","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nigeria Field Epidemiology & Laboratory Training Program (NFELTP), Haile Selassie St, Asokoro, Abuja, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kristin","family":"Peterson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine, California, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Brandon","family":"Brown","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Program in Public Health, Department of Population Health & Disease Prevention, University of California, Irvine, California, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2014,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025092414104409000_42.4.209.1","unstructured":"World Health Organization. Global Alert and Response (GAR): Ebola virus disease update \u2013 west Africa. 15 Aug 2014. http:\/\/www.who.int\/csr\/don\/2014_08_15_ebola\/en\/ (accessed 16 Aug 2014)."},{"key":"2025092414104409000_42.4.209.2","unstructured":"Strengthening of Health Systems for Equity and Development in Africa. Third Session of the African Union Conference of Ministers of Health, Johannesburg, South Africa, 9\u201313 April 2007. http:\/\/www.carmma.org\/download\/file\/fid\/154 (16 Aug 2014)."},{"key":"2025092414104409000_42.4.209.3","first-page":"2","article-title":"Health systems and primary health care in the African Region","volume":"14","author":"Sambo","year":"2011","journal-title":"African Health Monitor"},{"key":"2025092414104409000_42.4.209.4","unstructured":"Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Safe management of patients with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in US hospitals. http:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/vhf\/ebola\/hcp\/patient-management-us-hospitals.html (accessed 16 Aug 2014)."},{"key":"2025092414104409000_42.4.209.5","unstructured":"Obi P Adekoya B . Nigeria may have halted the Ebola's advance as doctor is discharged. This Day Live, 17 Aug 2014. http:\/\/www.thisdaylive.com\/articles\/nigeria-may-have-halted-ebolas-advance-as-doctor-is-discharged\/186560\/ (accessed 18 Aug 2014)."},{"key":"2025092414104409000_42.4.209.6","unstructured":"Grady D . With Ebola cases still few, populous Nigeria has chance to halt its outbreak. The New York Times, 15 Aug 2014. http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/08\/16\/science\/with-ebola-cases-still-few-populous-nigeria-has-chance-to-halt-its-outbreak.html?_r=0"},{"key":"2025092414104409000_42.4.209.7","unstructured":"Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria. Rules of professional conduct for Medical and Dental practitioners in Nigeria. Jan 1995."},{"issue":"(5)","key":"2025092414104409000_42.4.209.8","first-page":"332","article-title":"Obligation to provide services: a physician-public defender comparison","volume":"6","author":"McKoy","year":"2006","journal-title":"Virtual Mentor"},{"key":"2025092414104409000_42.4.209.9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7326\/0003-4819-128-5-199803010-00009"},{"key":"2025092414104409000_42.4.209.10","unstructured":"World Health Organisation. Ethical considerations in developing a public health response to pandemic influenza. WHO\/CDS\/EPR\/GIP\/2007.2, 2007."}],"container-title":["Journal of Medical Ethics"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/medethics-2014-102434","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,24]],"date-time":"2025-09-24T21:11:00Z","timestamp":1758748260000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/jme.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/medethics-2014-102434"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2014,9,9]]},"references-count":10,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,3,22]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2016,4]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1136\/medethics-2014-102434"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/medethics-2014-102434","relation":{},"ISSN":["0306-6800","1473-4257"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0306-6800","type":"print"},{"value":"1473-4257","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2014,9,9]]}}}