Africa Resilience Initiative

Primary tabs

Sat, 2009-03-21 11:57 — mdmcdonald

The mission of this working group is to articulate and shape issues of resilience and sustainability on the continent of Africa as they may be implemented as reforms of current policies, as well as contemplate and make recommendations for more extensive critiques and proposals for national, provincial, and local systems transformation, as may be necessary or desirable beyond the scope of traditional reforms being undertaken by the current African national governments and local government proposals in Africa.

General Topic Tags:

Resilience

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Other

Group:

Request group membership

Group description:

This working group is focused on developing an Africa Resilience Initiative to ensure resilience and sustainability for all Africans.

Group roles and permissions:

Use default roles and permissions

Group visibility:

Public - accessible to all site users

Add Content to this group

Click to add a new Group Post Simple to this group
Click to add a new Group Post Simple w Images to this group
Click to add a new Group Post to this group
Click to add a new PRIVATE Group Post to this group
Click to add a new TASK to this group

Members

Aboubacar Conte	admin	Anthony	bnorton	Carrielaj	Chisina Kapungu
ChrisAllen	craig.sevcik	Dr Ojia Adamolekun	efrost	Elhadj Drame	Grace Kim
Hadiatou Balde	jranck	Kathy Gilbeaux	mdmcdonald	MDMcDonald_me_com	mike kraft
njchapman	Norea	SmShako	TacarraB	Tjivekumba Kandjii

Request group membership

Email address for group

Broad Institute analyzes Ebola genomes

Wed, 2015-01-14 11:39 — mike kraft

MIT THE TECH by Jennifer F. Switzer Jan. 14, 2015

CAMBRIDGE , MA-- At the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, in a lab run by accomplished computational geneticist Pardis Sabeti ’97, researchers have collaborated with institutions in the U.S. and abroad to sequence and analyze more than 99 Ebola virus genomes collected by fellow scientists in Sierra Leone. They are on the lookout for mutations that could aid in developing new treatment options for Ebola, or that could serve as indications that the virus is evolving to become more deadly.

Contained within the virus’s 19,000 base-pair genome, the team has found more than 300 genetic changes that separate the 2014 Ebola virus from its predecessors. Of interest is one particular cluster of mutations which, having outlasted other genetic variations, could possibly be conferring some sort of genetic advantage to the virus ebola patients for sequencing.

Read complete story.
http://tech.mit.edu/V134/N62/ebola.htm

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Solutions

Read more about Broad Institute analyzes Ebola genomes
1 comment
Log in or register to post comments

Ebola crisis update - 13th January 2015--MSF

Wed, 2015-01-14 10:35 — mike kraft

MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERS Jan. 13, 2015

In September, 2014, MSF called for states with biological-disaster response capacity to urgently dispatch human and material resources to West Africa, all three of the worst-hit countries have received some assistance from the international community. But foreign governments have focused primarily on financing or building Ebola case management structures, leaving staffing them up to national authorities, local healthcare staff and NGOs.

Across the region, there are still not adequate facilities for isolating and diagnosing patients where they are needed. Other elements that are essential to an Ebola response – such as awareness-raising and community acceptance, safe burials, contact tracing, alert and surveillance, access to health care for non-Ebola patients – are still lacking in parts of West Africa.

Read complete report.

http://www.msf.org/article/ebola-crisis-update-13th-january-2015

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about Ebola crisis update - 13th January 2015--MSF
Log in or register to post comments

Ebola in Liberia could end by June, says new epidemic model

Wed, 2015-01-14 10:17 — mike kraft

MEDICAL NEWS TODAY Jan. 14, 2015
A new computer model that takes into account not only features of the virus and how it transmits, but also what is being done to halt its spread, predicts that the Ebola epidemic in Liberia could end by June if current high rates of hospitalization and surveillance continue.

The researchers believe their Ebola epidemic tool offers more realistic forecasts.

"That's a realistic possibility but not a foregone conclusion," says John Drake, an ecology professor at the University of Georgia (UGA), who led the project to develop the model with other ecologists at UGA and also at Pennsylvania State University.

The team reports how they developed the model and ran some scenarios through it, in the open access journal PLOS Biology.

Prof. Drake says their epidemic model is probably the first to take into account factors such as where infections occur, where patients are treated, growth in hospital bed numbers, and the adoption of safe burial practices.

Read complete story.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about Ebola in Liberia could end by June, says new epidemic model
Log in or register to post comments

Launching a vital link in the Ebola-response effort

Tue, 2015-01-13 20:44 — mike kraft

MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics Jan. 13, 2015

A shipment of medical equipment that arrived in Monrovia, Liberia, from Miami on Jan. 12 will enable 25 government hospitals to receive infection-control training. Critically, the shipment will help facilities that were partially or fully closed due to the ongoing Ebola crisis to recommence regular operations.

Many resources in the Ebola-response effort have appropriately focused on Ebola treatment; this flight launches an important new step in the response by providing training and supplies for health workers to safely resume vital services.

The delivery was organized by the Academic Consortium Combatting Ebola in Liberia (ACCEL), a network of academic centers with technical expertise in emergency medicine and logistics systems....

Read complete story.

http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2015/cargo-flight-launches-vital-link-ebola-response-effort-liberia-0113

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about Launching a vital link in the Ebola-response effort
Log in or register to post comments

Liberia says limits Ebola spread to just two counties

Tue, 2015-01-13 19:42 — mike kraft

REUTERS Jan. 13, 2015

MONROVIA-- Liberia is on the verge of containing the spread of the Ebola virus with only two of its 15 counties reporting new infections, the head of the country's Ebola response said on Tuesday.

Pedestrians walk past a sign reading ''Ebola disease outbreak'' outside the Ministry of Finance in Monrovia January 12, 2015. Credit: Reuters/James Giahyue

Tolbert Nyenswah, who is also a deputy health minister, said the new cases were reported in Montserrado county, which includes the capital Monrovia, and Grand Cape Mount, on the border with Sierra Leone.

Bong, Nimba, Sinoe, and Margibi counties have not reported a single case since the end of December, he said. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Bong, Nimba and Sinoe have gone 21 days without a positive case - the maximum incubation period for the virus.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about Liberia says limits Ebola spread to just two counties
Log in or register to post comments

Ebola Response Provides Key Lessons for Risk Communications

Tue, 2015-01-13 19:18 — mike kraft

Commentary: The CDC fumbled initial communications about Ebola transmission but recovered. What about next time?

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT by Jim McKay Jan. 13, 2015

It would be interesting to see what would happen if there was another Ebola scare in the U.S. The answer might depend on when it happened and perhaps where the person became infected. But chances are the health infrastructure would handle it, and perhaps respond to another infectious disease outbreak much better, having had the experience that the recent Ebola episodes provided.

That experience included hiccups and communication errors that resulted not in panic but disagreement on the part of some in the health community and alarm in the public. One target of criticism is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which was confident from the beginning in expressing that hospitals throughout the U.S. were ready to handle Ebola cases and messaging to the public about the difficulty of transmission of the infection. The CDC chose not to participate in this discussion....

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Solutions

Read more about Ebola Response Provides Key Lessons for Risk Communications
Log in or register to post comments

Ebola survivors in Sierra Leone key in training health providers

Tue, 2015-01-13 19:00 — mike kraft

Shunned in their communities, they provide invaluable insight to doctors and nurses

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation by Carolyn Dunn Jan, 12, 2015

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone --The role of survivors has proven so valuable to training health care professionals who will be treating Ebola for the first time that the course, run by the Ebola response teams for the International Organization of Migration (IOM) and World Health Organization (WHO) is now in high demand, training up to 60 much-needed health care workers a week in Freetown.

... survivor Fonti Kargbo, who often assumes the role of a patient, is timing each scenario to make sure the trainees aren’t in their hot, protective gear for too long.

Read complete story.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ebola-survivors-in-sierra-leone-key-in-training-health-providers-1.2897509

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Solutions

Situation Report

Read more about Ebola survivors in Sierra Leone key in training health providers
Log in or register to post comments

Ebola Clue Lurks in 10 Million Zambian Bats

Tue, 2015-01-13 17:58 — mike kraft

BLOOMBERG by Matthew Hill Jan. 12, 2015

At 4:50 a.m. at the Kasanka National Park in northern Zambia, tourists watch from a platform in a tree as the sound of millions of wings accompanies the sunrise.

Straw-coloured Fruit Bats fly in Kasanka National Park, Zambia. Photographer: Fabian von Poser/Getty Images

Meeting / Event Tags:

Conference Call

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Solutions

Read more about Ebola Clue Lurks in 10 Million Zambian Bats
Log in or register to post comments

China sending large Ebola team to West Africa

Tue, 2015-01-13 12:44 — mike kraft

AJ JAZEERA Jan. 13, 2015

China is ramping up its assistance in the fight against Ebola by dispatching an additional 232 army medical workers to West Africa, state media reported.

The latest contingent to be sent to afflicted nations will depart on Tuesday evening, with 154 of them headed to Liberia and 78 to Sierra Leone, according to the China Daily newspaper.

They will join 43 army doctors and 35 specialists from the Chinese Center for Disease Control already working in Sierra Leone, where they have treated 61 patients and trained 1,600 local medical workers.

Read complete story.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2015/01/china-ebola-west-africa-201511391645512136.html?utm_medium=referral&

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about China sending large Ebola team to West Africa
Log in or register to post comments

CDC director 'confident' can get to zero Ebola cases

Tue, 2015-01-13 11:59 — mike kraft

REUTERS Jan. 9, 2015

(Two stories. Scroll down.)

WASHINGTON --The director of the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention said on Tuesday he was "confident" that the Ebola outbreak ravaging West Africa can be brought under control but that "we are by no means out of the woods."

Speaking at a breakfast meeting in Washington with public health officials and lawmakers, Dr. Tom Frieden said it is vital that every case of the disease is eliminated.

"I remain very confident we can get to zero cases in this epidemic if we continue the way we're going and nothing unexpected happens," Frieden said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/13/us-health-ebola-frieden-idUSKBN0KM1KG20150113

-0-

USAID: Eyes on Guinea as Liberia, Sierra Leone improve on Ebola

The rate of new Ebola cases in Liberia has plunged, Sierra Leone is beginning to turn the corner in dealing with the deadly virus and health officials are now focused on Guinea, a USAID official said on Tuesday.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: