Lagos Sex workers lament low patronage caused by Ebola

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.”