Disaster Response

ASSOCIATED PRESS                               Oct. 20, 2014

By Raf Casert

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — The European Union committed itself Monday to step up efforts toward getting 1 billion euros ($1.27 billion) in aid to fight Ebola in West Africa and rejected the idea of halting direct flights coming from the region.

The EU foreign ministers set off a week of continentwide action with a pledge "to play an active role in enhancing the international response" to Ebola, which so far has been late and insufficient to contain the deadly virus that has claimed at least 4,500 lives.

British Prime Minister David Cameron wants a two-day summit of the 28 EU leaders ending Friday to reach the $1.27 billion aid threshold, agreeing on a variety of topics from more financial aid to common repatriation procedures, more Ebola treatment facilities and better training for health care workers.

...So far, the overall anti-Ebola total for the EU, including EU national contributions, stands at 500 million euros ($640 million), with Britain contributing 160 million euros ($204 million). The Netherlands also promised to send a frigate to West Africa to help, matching a similar contribution from Britain.

EU ministers rejected the idea of scrapping flights from West Africa to keep the virus out of Europe.

In Rock Island, Ill., Barhyeau Philips said he and his family would stay home for the next few weeks since the arrival of his daughter Jennifer from Liberia. Credit John Schultz/Quad-City Times, via Zuma
...

Liberia's president calls for more investment in health systems, news article, op-ed

ASSOCIATED PRESS                               Oct. 20, 2014

by Jonathan Paye-Layleh

Monrovia, Liberia — Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said Ebola has killed more than 2,000 people in her country and has brought it to “a standstill,” noting that Liberia and two other badly hit countries were already weakened by years of war.

Appealing for more international help, Sirleaf described the devastating effects of Ebola in a “Letter to the World” that was broadcast Sunday by the BBC.   https://soundcloud.com/bbc-world-service/a-letter-to-the-world-on-ebola-from-liberian-president-ellen-johnson-sirleaf?ocid=socialflow_twitter

“Across West Africa, a generation of young people risk being lost to an economic catastrophe as harvests are missed, markets are shut and borders are closed,” the Nobel Peace Prize laureate said. “The virus has been able to spread so rapidly because of the insufficient strength of the emergency, medical and military services that remain under-resourced....”

ROUNDUP OF DEVELOPMENTS SUNDAY

REUTERS                                     Oct 19, 2014

By Erwin Seba

GALVESTON Texas --(Reuters) - The United States will issue strict new guidelines telling American health workers to cover their skin and hair when dealing with Ebola patients, a top health official said on Sunday, while some of the dozens of people being watched for possible exposure to the virus are expected to be cleared.

 A health care worker receives protocol on the proper removal of personal protection equipment from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) instructors in preparation for the response to the current Ebola outbreak, during a CDC safety training course in Anniston, Alabama, October 6, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Tami Chappell

In Texas, a lab worker who spent much of a Caribbean holiday cruise in isolation tested negative for the deadly virus and left the Carnival Magic liner with other passengers after it docked at Galveston early on Sunday morning....