Ebola War: The Nurses of Gulu 2002
Distributed by Filmakers Library, 124 East 40th Street, New York, NY 10016; 202-808-4980
Produced by Alethia Productions
Director n/a
VHS, color, 46 min.
Adult
Health Sciences, Multicultural Studies, Women's Studies, Health Sciences
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Warren Hawkes, Library, New York State Nurses AssociationHistorically health care professionals and nurses in particular have provided care to the sick even when their own lives have been in jeopardy. That sense of caring for others beyond one’s own welfare is well documented in this video. In October 2000, the Ugandan Health Ministry confirmed the outbreak of Ebola in Gulu in the northern region of Uganda. The Lacor Hospital, a 450-bed Catholic facility, became one of the central points of care for the outbreak. Staff established isolation units and protocols to protect both the public and care givers. But by the time the outbreak was under control, hundreds of people had died, including 13 nurses and the medical superintendent of the facility, Dr. Matthew Lukwiya. Through a series of candid interviews with nurses, physicians and the family of individuals who died, we are provided with a chronology of the outbreak and get a true feel for its impact on their personal lives and their community. Recommended.