Marie Claire Tchecola

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Marie Clare Tchecola - Ebola Survivor (2015)
Marie Clare Tchecola with Michelle Obama (2015)

Marie Claire Tchecola (* 20th century in Guinea ) is a Guinean nurse and Ebola survivor. She is an activist who educates people about diseases and fights against the stigma of those who suffer from diseases. In 2015 she received the International Women of Courage Award from the US State Department .

Life

Tchecola grew up in a small Guinean village near the Senegalese border. She was the first woman in her family to receive an education. She obtained her nursing diploma and worked as a nurse at Donka Hospital in Conakry , Guinea.

In July 2014, she contracted Ebola while treating a seriously ill patient. A shortage of medical personnel and basic protective equipment created a situation in West Africa where the disease spread rapidly. When she recognized the symptoms, she enrolled herself in a treatment center to prevent the disease from spreading. She recognized from her own experience that denial, doubt, and misinformation can prevent people from receiving adequate treatment and taking reasonable precautions. After recovering from the illness, Tchecola returned to her job as an emergency nurse at Donka Hospital, but her troubles were not over.

Tchecola's landlord had evicted her apartment out of fear and misinformation about the illness. Other survivors have experienced similar things: friends stop visiting, employers don't let their workforce return to work, communities believe Ebola is a death sentence and that victims will eventually die so they avoid the survivors, children and adolescents become family members refused and fear inhibits other accommodation for her. The situation with the children is particularly serious, with more than 4,000 children in Guinea registered as orphans. As the survivors appear to have immunity to the disease, UNICEF recruits them to help sick children. The survivors are able to touch the traumatized children and give them comfort, which is not possible for the personnel in protective equipment.

Tchecola is committed to raising awareness, educating people about Ebola prevention and combating discrimination against survivors. She is a member of the Ebola Survivors Association of Guinea, which provides a support network for those who have survived the disease.

Web links

Commons : Marie Claire Tchecola  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Biographies of 2015 Award Winners. (No longer available online.) In: state.gov. web.archive.org, 2015, archived from the original on April 2, 2015 ; accessed on February 9, 2020 .
  2. ^ A b c Marie Claire Tchecola. In: tackleebola.org. Tackle Ebola, 2015, accessed February 9, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c Defying stigma, survivors join the Ebola fight in West Africa . In: Reuters . 2014 ( reuters.com ).
  4. ^ Sec John Kerry, Contributor U.S. Secretary of State, 2013-2017: International Women's Day. In: huffpost.com. HuffPost, 2015, accessed February 9, 2020 .
  5. ^ Towards a program to support Ebola survivors. In: unaids.org. Retrieved February 9, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Marie Claire Tchecola récompensée pour son combat contre la stigmatisation des victimes d'Ebola_CCTV.com française_ 央视 网 (cctv.com). (No longer available online.) In: cntv.cn. web.archive.org, 2015, archived from the original on April 2, 2015 ; accessed on February 9, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Tchecola, Marie Claire
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Guinean nurse and activist who fights against the stigmatization of Ebola victims
DATE OF BIRTH 20th century
PLACE OF BIRTH Guinea