In The News
1. WHO Declares End To Ebola As Public Health Emergency Of International Concern
News outlets report on statements from the WHO IHR Emergency Committee on Ebola and Director-General Margaret Chan declaring an end to Ebola as an international health emergency.
Associated Press: WHO: Ebola no longer world health emergency
"The World Health Organization said Tuesday that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa no longer qualifies as an international health emergency, although it cautioned that male survivors can infect their sexual partners for up to a year after recovering..." (Larson, 3/29).
The Hill: WHO declares end to Ebola emergency
"The World Health Organization on Tuesday declared the Ebola virus is no longer a public health threat, marking the end of a 20-month global emergency that left [more than] 11,000 people dead..." (Ferris, 3/29).
New York Times: Emergency Over Ebola Has Ended, WHO Says
"...Dr. Margaret Chan, the director general of the WHO, said in a news briefing that she was accepting the recommendation of an emergency committee, which concluded that West African countries had the ability to contain the small number of new cases that continued to arise, and that 'the likelihood of international spread is low'..." (Belluck, 3/29).
PBS NewsHour: The Ebola public health emergency is over, WHO declares
"...Despite the decision, one of the three countries at the heart of the outbreak, Guinea, is still in a state of high alert because of a recent cluster of five confirmed cases and three probable cases..." (Branswell, 3/29).
Reuters: West Africa Ebola outbreak no longer poses global risk: WHO
"...All original chains of virus transmission have now ended, although new clusters of infections continue to occur due to reintroductions of the virus, the WHO said in a statement..." (Nebehay, 3/29).
U.N. News Centre: U.N. declares Ebola public health emergency over; urges 'high vigilance' against flare-ups
"...WHO has kept hundreds of its own experienced staff in the three countries, ready to contribute to the kind of emergency response needed to quickly interrupt transmission chains, and for the first time in any Ebola outbreak, response teams have access to vaccination as a powerful containment tool, [Chan] added..." (3/29).
2. NPR Interviews USAID Administrator Gayle Smith About Priorities, Challenges
NPR: The 'Girl Boss' Of USAID Has $22 Billion To Spend And A Tight Deadline
"...When the newly installed USAID chief Gayle Smith was at a conference in Africa recently, the local leaders didn't recognize the gender of her name. So they gave her a 'Mr. Smith' tag -- which she now has on top of a bookshelf in her corner office at the Ronald Reagan building in Washington, D.C. The nameplate on her desk makes things clear. It says: 'GIRL BOSS.' Being a boss anointed in the final months of a president's term is not an easy job. Three months ago, Smith took the top spot of the federal agency in charge of U.S. humanitarian projects like fighting Ebola, feeding refugees, and distributing more than $22 billion this year in aid..." (Gharib, 3/29).
3. Brazil Mobilizes Largest Military Action In History To Fight Zika
The Guardian: Zika virus command center leads biggest military operation in Brazil's history
"It is the biggest military mobilization in Brazil's history: 220,000 army, navy, and air force personnel have been called into action, as well as 315,000 public officials. Rapid reaction units have been deployed to take the fight across the country. Local authorities are stockpiling munitions and supplies. Scientists have been enlisted to devise new weapons of mass destruction with which to defend the motherland..." (Watts, 3/30).
4. Children Most Affected By Yearlong Conflict In Yemen, UNICEF Report Says
News outlets discuss a new UNICEF report, titled "Children on the Brink."
New York Times: Children Pay 'Highest Price' as Yemen Falls Apart, U.N. Says
"A yearlong conflict is threatening to cause a humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, one of the world's poorest countries, the United Nations reported on Tuesday, saying that 'children are paying the highest price'..." (Cumming-Bruce, 3/29).
U.N. News Centre: Yemen's children 'locked in a vicious cycle of violence, loss, and uncertainty,' U.N. warns
"Six children are killed or injured every day and children as young as 10 years old are recruited to fight in conflict-torn Yemen, according to a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report, which also underscored that child recruitment has risen exponentially during the fighting and that the country is at risk of becoming a failed state..." (3/29).
5. South Sudan Needs Additional Humanitarian Funding To Provide Food Aid, Health, Sanitation Services
Agence France-Presse: War-torn South Sudan starvation levels 'alarming': U.N.
"U.N. food experts warned Tuesday of 'alarming' levels of starvation in South Sudan with food prices at record highs after two years of civil war marked by atrocities..." (3/29).
U.N. News Centre: Hunger and ongoing insecurity forcing South Sudanese to flee country, U.N. agency reports
"Growing food insecurity is causing more and more South Sudanese to flee into Sudan, the United Nations refugee agency [said Tuesday], urging more funding for clean water, sanitation and health services, food and shelter..." (3/29).
6. African Development Bank To Loan Zambia $125M For Sanitation, Food Security, Women Entrepreneurial Efforts
Reuters: African Development Bank agrees to lend Zambia $125 million
"The African Development Bank has agreed to lend Zambia $125 million on concessional terms for the improvement of sanitation, food security, and support to women entrepreneurs, the government said on Tuesday..." (Mfula, 3/29).
7. Pakistan, Afghanistan Begin Synchronized Polio Immunization Campaigns In Border Areas
Inter Press Service: Challenges of Polio Vaccination
"Pakistan and Afghanistan, the two remaining polio-endemic countries, have joined forces to eradicate poliomyelitis by vaccinating their children in synchronized campaigns. The two neighboring countries -- sharing a 2,400 km long and porous border -- have been bracketed as the stumbling block in the way of the global polio eradication drive. These militancy-riddled countries have been tackling Taliban's opposition to the administration of oral polio vaccine (OPV) to children..." (Yusufzai, 3/29).
8. Meningitis Infects 736, Kills 61 So Far This Year In Niger, U.N. Reports
Agence France-Presse: U.N. says 736 meningitis cases, 61 deaths this year in Niger
"Sixty-one people have died of meningitis since January in Niger, the United Nations said Tuesday, despite mass vaccinations to prevent a possible epidemic. A total of 736 cases have been officially recorded this year, the local branch of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, adding that children under four comprised 30 percent of the total cases..." (3/29).
9. Indian Pharmaceutical Companies Working To Develop Childhood Pneumococcal Vaccines
Livemint: Pneumonia vaccine: the new battleground for Indian drug makers
"...Tergene is not alone in the race to make the pediatric vaccine. Big Indian vaccine names such as Pune-based Serum Institute of India Ltd and New Delhi-based Panacea Biotec Ltd are also developing [pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs)]. Serum and Panacea have received funding support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation..." (Pilla, 3/30).