One of the biggest challenges in combatting the Ebola virus, which has claimed more than 1,200 lives in West Africa, is misinformation about the disease. Local communities that don’t have access to information about how the virus spreads and its health consequences have resorted to ineffective traditional approaches like herbal treatments, and in other cases have denied the virus exists.
“Many, especially in the slums, believe it is a hoax cooked up by the government in order to bring in international funds,” Getty Images photojournalist John Moore told Time magazine in an interview published Tuesday.
More has been working out of Monrovia, Liberia, to cover the outbreak — taking photos of everything from residents waiting for treatment to health workers trying to promote awareness. See below for some of his powerful, on-the-ground images.
A Liberian burial team, all wearing protective clothing, retrieves the body of a 60-year-old Ebola victim in his home on Aug. 17, 2014, near Monrovia, Liberia.
Hanah Siafa lies with her children Josephine, 10, and Elija, 6, while hoping to enter the new Doctors Without Borders treatment center on Aug. 17, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia.
Workers prepare the new Doctors Without Borders treatment center on Aug. 17, 2014. near Monrovia, Liberia.
Doctors Without Borders staffer Brett Adamson, from Australia, briefs local staff on procedures at the new Ebola treatment center on Aug. 17, 2014, near Monrovia, Liberia.
Nroh Nah listens as local UNICEF health workers speak about Ebola prevention at the entrance to her home on Aug. 18, 2014, in New Kru Town, Liberia.
UNICEF health workers walk through the streets, going house to house to speak about Ebola prevention on Aug. 18, 2014, in New Kru Town, Liberia.
A man washes his hands in chlorinated water as UNICEF health workers walk through the streets, speaking about Ebola prevention on Aug. 18, 2014, in New Kru Town, Liberia.
Public health advocates stage an Ebola awareness and prevention event on Aug. 18, 2014, in Monrovia, Liberia.
Public health advocates stage street performances at an Ebola awareness and prevention event on Aug. 18, 2014, in Monrovia, Liberia.
Public health advocates stage street performances at an Ebola awareness and prevention event on Aug. 18, 2014, in Monrovia, Liberia.