The Ebola outbreak revealed that despite decades of restructuring, fundamental problems still exist within African (public) healthcare sectors. Several actors are now engaged in the African health...Show moreThe Ebola outbreak revealed that despite decades of restructuring, fundamental problems still exist within African (public) healthcare sectors. Several actors are now engaged in the African health sector, including traditional partners from the Global North, the private sector and increasingly more partners from the Global South. This thesis examines in what ways Cuba's and China's development cooperation with Ebola-affected states in the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic reflect an approach to leverage sustainable donor-driven health interventions in crisis settings. Based on a review of the literature on the sustainability of health interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a tailored framework was developed for short-term health interventions in crisis settings. This framework revolves around four aspects of analysis: 1. intervention of development partners and organisational setting, 2. stakeholder involvement and context awareness, 3. performance and flexibility and 4. sustainability. A between-case analysis of Cuba's and China's health interventions in the Ebola-affected states suggests that their interventions can be considered semi-sustainable. The analysis confirms that any intervention intended for the short-term in a public health crisis should be beneficial for the long-term. This thesis further discusses the benefits and challenges encountered by both development partners in SSA. The results also suggest that health systems strengthening in SSA require better coordination of aid towards the direct health needs of African people and a more holistic approach to health.Show less
On the 18th of September 2014 the United Nations Security Council met in its first emergency meeting on a public health crisis. The reason for this meeting was to discuss and find an appropriate...Show moreOn the 18th of September 2014 the United Nations Security Council met in its first emergency meeting on a public health crisis. The reason for this meeting was to discuss and find an appropriate response to the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The response came in the form of resolution 2177 and 69/1, which mandated the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response. A mandated health crisis mission is unprecedented in international politics and can be seen as a watershed moment. This thesis analyzed the legitimization process of the UN response within the larger discourse of global health security. A critical approach was taken in the form of poststructuralism, as it tries to identify and explain how certain issues have been problematized and how the discourse has emerged historically to frame an understanding of problems and solutions.Show less
