China Preparing For Potential Imported Ebola Cases; Piot Says Country At Risk October 30, 2014 News Summary News outlets report on how China is addressing the threat of potential imported Ebola cases. Associated Press: Ebola expert says China at risk, seeks Japan aid “A scientist who helped to discover the Ebola virus says he is concerned that the disease could spread to China given the large numbers…
Two Experimental Ebola Vaccines Move Into Clinical Trials October 30, 2014 News Summary News outlets report on recent moves to test two different experimental Ebola vaccines. Associated Press: Swiss agency approves trial for Ebola vaccine “…Swissmedic said the trial will be conducted among 120 volunteer participants with support from the U.N. World Health Organization. The experimental vaccine is to be initially administered on…
Scientific Discovery On Ebola, Filoviruses Has Advanced But More Needed, Experts Say October 30, 2014 News Summary Nature: The Ebola questions “…[T]he advances in knowledge about filoviruses [gained since their discovery in the 1960s] have also exposed the gaps. Scientists suspect that more members of the filovirus family remain to be discovered… They are also working to understand which animals naturally harbor filoviruses and why human filovirus…
Saudi Arabia Confirms Six New MERS Cases Within 24 Hours October 30, 2014 News Summary Reuters: Saudi Arabia finds six new MERS cases as outbreak grows “Saudi Arabia said late on Wednesday it had detected six new cases of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 24 hours, the biggest daily jump for months with officials blaming lax hospital procedures…” (McDowall, 10/20).
Conviction Of Father In Ivory Coast Child Marriage Case Seen As Step Toward Eradicating Practice October 30, 2014 News Summary Agence France-Presse: Jail for I. Coast dad who tried to marry off 11-year-old daughter “A father in Ivory Coast was ordered to jail and fined on Wednesday after a court found him guilty for trying to arrange the forced marriage of his 11-year-old daughter. His was the first trial of…
Women Residents Of Kenyan Slum Protest Government’s Slow Response To Sanitation, Land Rights October 30, 2014 News Summary The Guardian: Nairobi’s female slum dwellers march for sanitation and land rights “…About 100 female residents of Mukuru, an informal settlement in south-east Nairobi, traveled across town to wave signs and sing songs in a bid to grasp the attention of a government that has for decades failed to recognize…
Eastern, Southern Africa Provide Lessons For Reforming Humanitarian Action; South Africa Can Serve As ‘Key Player,’ U.N. Official Says October 30, 2014 News Summary U.N. News Centre: South Africa poised to be key player in humanitarian assistance, says U.N. relief chief “Learning from the experiences of the Eastern and Southern Africa region will be vital in global efforts to reform humanitarian action, a top United Nations humanitarian official said [Wednesday] in Pretoria, South Africa,…
Countries Bordering Syria Need More Humanitarian Aid Support To Host Refugees, U.N. Official Says October 30, 2014 News Summary U.N. News Centre: Massive scale-up of assistance needed for countries impacted by ongoing Syria crisis — U.N. relief official “The ongoing civil war in Syria and its spillover effects continue to inflict a devastating human and humanitarian toll on neighboring Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan, a senior United Nations relief official…
‘Correct Interpretation’ Of Helms Amendment Would Allow U.S. To Support Women, Girls Who Are Raped, Impregnated In Conflict October 30, 2014 News Summary Huffington Post: Time to Act for Women and Girls Raped in Conflict Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity “At the Obama administration’s six-year mark we can celebrate much that has been done to further the cause of women and girls here in the United States…
Post-2015 Agenda Should Focus On Sustainable Development October 30, 2014 News Summary Huffington Post: For Post-2015, International Community Should Focus on Enabling Sustainable Development Ulysses Smith, chair of the New York City Bar Association’s United Nations Committee “Now that the high-level meetings have concluded, and the echoing of motorcade sirens has faded from the canyons of Manhattan’s East Side, it is time…