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An Interview with Les Roberts
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ePulse: How was your report [on the Congo] received?

LR: Incredibly well. The first time around, IRC, to their credit, wanted to try to release it through the newspapers. I wanted to get it published through a journal. In the end, they convinced me that their approach was right. We got it on the front page of the New York Times. The results spread around the world and were on the BBC, covered very widely.

Given that we just went to five little pockets and extrapolated our results out to twenty million people, it was very weak science, compared to Iraq which was a nationwide sample. Other than the Minister of Health of the invading country, there was not much skepticism.

I think part of that was that we were very upfront about our limitations. We said that this is the best we could do, here’s what we think, here’s why it might be too high, here’s why it might be too low. I think the critics for the most part said, well they’ve pointed out why this might be too high and why this might be too low. By being so forthright about our limitations, I think it prevented a lot of criticism that would have come otherwise.

ePulse: How have the situation and results differed from those in Iraq?

LR: The Iraq study is far better.

ePulse: Scientifically?

LR: Scientifically, but this time, the belligerents have the capacity to spin the story.

ePulse: Isn’t there a difference in the way people are dying in Iraq as well?

LR: Yes, I didn’t realize that’s what you were asking about. Yes, in the Congo, most deaths were from infectious diseases induced by violence. In Iraq, people are dying of violence primarily.

ePulse: How many times have you been to Iraq?

LR: Just once.

ePulse: So the second study you supervised from the states.

LR: Gilbert Burnham supervised from the states. And our colleague, Riyadh Lafta is a really, really capable guy. There was no need for anyone to go help him because we didn’t have anything to offer. The first time around I think that there were sampling procedures that he was able to learn from me, so there was value in my going. But he understood Iraq, he understood how to ask questions so that they were not ambiguous in that culture. He understood all the important parts. I just knew how to assign clusters and how to pick a first house and some sampling techniques that he hadn’t been exposed too before.