This infographic was made to help illustrate all of the factors that allowed Ebola to thrive in West Africa in 2014. The factors include the history of Ebola (all recorded infections and deaths from Ebola's first outbreak in 1976 until November 5th 2014), doctor-to patient-ratios, total expenditure on health per capita, times of civil unrest, illiteracy rates, and poverty rates. The infographic compares the four affected countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Nigeria against the United States. It shows how the region of West Africa was severely unprepared for a mass medical crisis.