Deeply honored to have won a @AAASKavli Gold Award for my feature @NatureNews

It is a profile of @Tedros & @WHO as they tackled #Ebola in DR Congo. It foreshadowed the COVID crisis in the US.

I’ll explain that here & lessons to learn. (Treat at end!) https://go.nature.com/3khm1HT 

Lesson 1: Epidemics depend on context. “The outbreak of Ebola is a symptom; the root cause is political instability,” said @Tedros.

Many places are unstable. DRC is very. Since 2017, in Kivu provinces alone, 3860 people have been killed & 5274 abducted. https://kivusecurity.org/ 

Many governments, including DRC, ignore or fuel conflict & poverty in east DRC. When the president barred eastern cities from voting “due to Ebola” the link between politics& the virus hardened. Next came attacks.

Does politicization of a virus in an election yr sound familiar?

Lesson 2: Mistrust results in avoidance of ‘health authorities'. To gain trust, the wisest Ebola responders used conversations

They tried to see the world from the perspective of the people they wanted to help.

For example: Here’s @SoceFallBirima listening to complaints from angry motorcyclists who have blocked the road in protest.

Here is @AnokoJulienne visiting communities deep in the forest, rightfully suspicious of outsiders. Ebola discoverer @MTamfum frequently speaks at churches

Conversations are hard! They don’t turn a profit for tech companies or branding agencies. But ads & posters aren't enough.

I see many people in parts of Brooklyn not wearing masks in shops. Fines would be cruel w/poverty rising.

Where is outreach, empathy & support in the US?

Thanks @WHO for dedication in DRC & transparency. @Tedros is pushing for universal healthcare. Without it, we won’t detect emerging epidemics quickly. Without it, SO many people die from preventable causes. Without it, communities mistrust ‘health authority.’

PS #BlackinSTEM

Massive thanks to the photographer who traveled w/me & took gorgeous photos @wesselsjohn1 (pictured at a checkpoint waving); my editors at Nature @bmaher @lmorello; and @pulitzercenter, which has consistently supported my need to report on the ground and not at the desk.

Thanks for coming to my Twitter talk. I’ll end the way I ended my trip to DRC, with a trip to see bonobos. Thanks again to @AAASKavli & hurray for my talented colleagues listed here. Check out their work! https://sjawards.aaas.org/news/2020-aaas-kavli-science-journalism-award-winners-named