[READ & SHARE] Lagos Sex workers lament low patronage caused by Ebola Via @iKanzee_RR

LAGOS (AFP) – Kate, Bright and Happiness
sat on the lawn of a Lagos brothel, sipping
lager and chatting with men in groups of two
or four. Business had been good, they said,
until Ebola arrived.
“I have been in this business for two years but
business has never been this slow,” said Kate.
“I used to have an average of seven customers
per day but I can hardly see four now since
this Ebola disease came to town,” the 25-
year-old told AFP.
“Many of our customers are afraid to come to
us for fear of contracting the disease. This
Ebola wahala (problem) is really bad business.
The government should do something about
it.”
With Ebola spread through the bodily fluids of
an infected person, including sweat, the sex
workers say they’ve been particularly badly hit
by public fears.
“This disease is bad-o!” said 23-year-old
Bright. “It is worse than HIV/AIDS. You can
prevent HIV by using condoms but you can’t
do the same with Ebola.
“If care is not taken we will soon be driven out
of business because nobody wants to die.”
- Bushmeat hit -
Sex workers aren’t the only ones in the
informal economy — in which an estimated
three-quarters of Nigerians work — who are
feeling the effects of Ebola. Three people have
died of the disease in Lagos, and more are
expected.
Sellers of bushmeat, a popular delicacy in
Nigeria and elsewhere in the region, also
complain of fewer customers.
The hunters, who catch animals such as
antelope, porcupine and bush rats, fear for
their livelihoods if the trend continues.
Fruit bats and monkeys are both thought to
transmit the virus.
Guinea, which with Sierra Leone and Liberia
has had more than 1,000 deaths from Ebola
since the start of the year, banned the
consumption of bats to try to control the
spread to humans.
Nigeria has issued similar warnings about
bushmeat but not outlawed the practice.
Vivian Lateef Koshefobamu has been in the
bushmeat business nearly 30 years. But the
45-year-old’s stall stands alone and even
then only displays a few pieces of roasted
meat.
“The customers have all run away for fear of
Ebola,” she told AFP. “They are scared. Most
of the bushmeat sellers are also not coming
to sell for the same reason. But I’m not
afraid.”
The health advice was “mere propaganda to
spoil our business”, she added.
- Everyone a suspect -
Elsewhere in megacity Lagos, home to more
than 21 million, everyone from market traders
and undertakers, bank workers to shop
assistants openly discusses their fears and
how they’ve changed their behaviour.
At the Oke Arin and Balogun markets in
central Lagos, some traders wear gloves and
protective masks and swear that trade is slack
— although the teeming crowds suggest
otherwise.
In banks, cashiers and other staff dealing with
banknotes and the public do the same.
Taxi, motorised rickshaw and bus drivers fear
carrying contaminated passengers. Few people
shake hands. Everyone is wary. Even the bus
queues have become slightly more orderly.
“If somebody should have sweat on his or her
body and I get in contact with the person, I’m
aware of the fact that I might get the virus,”
said bus passenger Kolawole Olalekan.
“So, everybody now… we all get into the bus
gently. No rushing like the normal Lagos
hustle and all.”
At MIC Royal, a firm of undertakers potentially
on the front line given that the bodies of Ebola
victims can still pass on the virus after death,
bosses decided to turn down business.
“Our company has not buried any Ebola victim
since the outbreak and we will not handle
such a job if given,” said senior manager Tunji
Adesalu.
“As undertakers, we appeal to the bereaved to
encourage the cremation of their dead in order
to reduce the risks of contracting the Ebola
virus.”
- Public awareness -
Combating ignorance is part of the battle.
Bogus claims of remedies such as salt-water
cures and even divine intervention have been
rife in religiously conservative Nigeria.
The Lagos state government’s awareness
campaign extends to radio and television
advertisements, notices in newspapers and
flyers as well as drive-by public health
announcements to get the message across.
“The state governor met with religious and
community leaders to stress the need for sick
people to go to the hospital for treatment
rather than seek divine healing,” said Tubosun
Ogunbanwo, spokesman for the local health
commissioner.
“There is no cure for Ebola but it can be
prevented and controlled through public
awareness campaigns and good hygiene.”
Sarah Adigun’s experience suggests Lagosians
are listening: sales of hand sanitiser and soap
have gone through the roof.
“I now sell a bottle of 50 ml Dettol for 1,050
naira (5 euros, $6.5) against 900 naira before
the outbreak,” the cosmetics trader said.
“I’m almost running out of stocks as our
suppliers are not meeting our demand.”