Esther is confronting Ebola's hidden toll on mental health
As Ebola brings fear and loss to communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, clinical psychologist Esther Anchouza is adapting how she supports women and challenging misinformation that puts more lives at risk.
Before Ebola, women in Esther Anchouza's community could gather for group therapy sessions and speak openly about what they were going through. These shared spaces were part of how Esther supported people living through crisis and helped them care for their psychosocial wellbeing.
Since the outbreak, that work has changed. Restrictions have made gatherings more difficult, while fear of infection and death has created what Esther describes as a constant climate of stress. The need for support is growing at the very moment it has become harder for people to come together.
Esther is a clinical psychologist who has worked with ActionAid for the past year. She sees the emergency not only in infections and deaths, but also in the pressure it places on people already carrying uncertainty, grief and worry for their families.
“"Everything has changed," she says. "Before Ebola, people could gather together and we were able to organise group therapy sessions. That allowed women to speak openly."
Misinformation is making this fear worse. Some people continue to doubt that Ebola exists. Others believe it has been invented to help humanitarian organisations raise money, or that it is caused by witchcraft. Esther says these rumours increase the risk of infection at a time when communities need clear, trusted information.
A shortage of protective kits adds to the danger. For Esther, accurate information must be matched by practical measures that allow people to protect themselves. She is urging people to take Ebola seriously, follow preventive guidance and understand that protecting themselves can also protect those they love.
Women's leadership remains central to how Esther understands the response. In her work, women are not simply people affected by a crisis. They are leaders and agents of change in their communities. Keeping spaces open for women to talk, receive support and share reliable information is therefore an important part of the response, even when those spaces must be adapted to reduce the risk of infection.
For Esther, every new case and every death has an impact far beyond one person.
"When a person dies, there is a family behind that person," she says. "And when a family is affected, there is a whole community that is affected by this ordeal."
That is why responding to Ebola is about more than controlling a virus. It is also about protecting mental wellbeing, keeping communities connected and ensuring fear does not stop people from acting together to protect one another.
