Showing posts with label EBOLA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EBOLA. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2014
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
SECRETARY HAGEL COMMENTS ON EBOLA MONITORING OF U.S. TROOPS RETURNING FROM WEST AFRICA
Air Force Staff Sgt. Chris Olmsted directs a C-17 Globemaster III in Monrovia, Liberia, during Operation United Assistance, Oct. 23, 2014. Olmsted is part of the Joint Task Force-Port Opening team assigned to the 621st Contingency Response Wing, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Gustavo Gonzalez.
Hagel: Monitoring Returning Troops Provides ‘Safety Valve’
By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jake Richmond
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2014 – A 21-day monitoring period for U.S. service members returning from areas affected by Ebola in West Africa provides a margin of safety that troops and their families wanted, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said here today.
During an interview at the Washington Ideas Forum here, Hagel said the policy he signed this morning was “discussed in great detail by the communities, by the families of our military men and women,” who very much wanted a “safety valve” in place.
The order implements a recommendation from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to place all U.S. military service members returning from Operation United Assistance into a 21-day controlled monitoring regimen. It applies to all military services contributing personnel to the fight against Ebola at its source, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement.
Review required within 45 days
Hagel’s directive to the Joint Chiefs also stipulates that they provide operational specifics for the program within 15 days and a review of the new regimen within 45 days. The review will take into account what officials learn and observe from the initial waves of personnel returning from Operation United Assistance, and will result in a recommendation on whether the controlled monitoring should continue, Kirby said.
“The secretary believes these initial steps are prudent, given the large number of military personnel transiting from their home base and West Africa and the unique logistical demands and impact this deployment has on the force,” the press secretary said. “The secretary's highest priority is the safety and security of our men and women in uniform and their families.”
ONE MEMBER JOINT DOD TEAM BRINGS EXPERIENCE OF TREATING EBOLA PATIENTS
Right: Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) James Lawler, center, an infectious disease physician, talks to team members during a training event at the San Antonio Military Medical Center on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Oct. 25, 2014. The group is part of a 30-member DoD team that could be called on to respond to new cases of Ebola in the United States. DoD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
Navy Physician Provides Ebola Treatment Expertise to DoD Team
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Oct. 27, 2014 – The Defense Department’s unprecedented mission of establishing a 30-member team to rapidly and effectively respond to any potential Ebola virus outbreak in the U.S. has brought some of the U.S. military health system’s best medical professionals together.
One member of the joint team brings real-world experience treating Ebola patients to the DoD training course that will assist in advancing the group’s proficiency. Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) James Lawler, chief of the clinical research department of the bio-defense research directorate, Naval Medical Research Center, Fort Detrick, Maryland, discussed his role on the DoD team serving as a subject-matter expert on Ebola treatment.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work in a couple of isolation treatment units in sub-Saharan Africa,” he said, “and recently, in May, I was at the Ebola treatment unit in Conakry, Guinea, as a consultant for the World Health Organization. He also worked with the local health ministry and with Doctors Without Borders, which runs the Ebola treatment unit in Conakry.
Advances in Ebola treatment
Lawler, an 18-year Navy veteran, said he thinks the treatment of Ebola has “evolved significantly” due to the outbreak in West Africa.
“We’re really rewriting the textbook on Ebola virus disease, because we’ve seen so many more cases in this outbreak,” he said. “I think we’ve tried to capture a lot of the lessons that have been learned from West Africa, and also from the repatriated patients who have been treated here in the United States. We’ve learned a lot about effective treatment and how important aggressive supportive care can be, and we’ve tried to impart those lessons to the team here.”
One characteristic of Ebola, he said, has been recognized more widely now for contributing to the mortality and morbidity of the disease: diarrhea and the incredible amount of fluid loss and associated electrolyte abnormalities that come with the disease.
“I think being more aggressive in treating those features of the disease has been an advance that this outbreak has precipitated,” Lawler said. “And I think that there’s a better appreciation that aggressive supportive care can make a significant difference in outcome.”
Training focused on infection prevention
During the DoD training the 30-member team has undergone, Lawler said, the focus has centered on appropriate infection prevention and control in isolation units -- how to set up an isolation unit appropriately, how to use the personal protective equipment, and how to integrate the appropriate infection control procedures into daily clinical practice.
Team diversity
The team’s make-up — 10 critical care nurses; 10 noncritical care in-patient nurses; five physicians with infectious disease, internal medicine and critical care experience; and five members trained in infection control specialties — is essential to its success, Lawler said. “Their complex patients require a significant amount of care,” he added, “and as part of the team we have a core of critical care nurses who are really the most important part of the team.”
That intensive nursing, Lawler said, makes the biggest difference in patient outcome, and all of those disciplines are important to managing patients.
“We also have some other folks who specialize in things like industrial hygiene and environmental health [who] can help with some of the other aspects of setting up a patient care unit that are important,” he said.
The infection prevention control practices the team is training on will work if they’re done effectively, Lawler said.
“It’s important to really rely on your training and to remain focused and deliberate when you’re working in a unit,” he said. “Errors usually come when people get sloppy; when they get tired [and] careless. We really focus on preventing that.”
Additionally, Lawler said, there is “absolutely” a benefit to having a team available for any infectious disease contingency, because Ebola is not the only worry.
“There’s [Middle East respiratory syndrome] Coronavirus that’s out there in the Middle East right now,” Lawler explained. “We’ve already had experience with [severe acute respiratory syndrome] [and] with pandemic influenza, so the threat of emerging disease and pandemic disease is always out there.”
Confidence in DoD team
Lawler expressed confidence in the team’s training and said he believes it’s ready to “deliver good care, and to do it safely.”
“I feel very comfortable that our training has prepared the team to deliver care effectively and safely,” he said. “If the event ever happens [where] the team gets called up, hopefully, other people [outside DoD] have the same confidence that I do that the team is ready to go.”
Lawler said the nation always turns to the military in difficult times, and it is up to the DoD team to ensure it lives up to that trust.
“I think, in general, doing good patient care in difficult situations is what the military medical system always does,” he said. “That mission is not unfamiliar to us, and we’re ready to go if the call comes around for this particular instance.”
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH GERMAN CHANCELLOR MERKEL
FROM: THE STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With German Chancellor Angela Merkel Before Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Chancellery
Berlin, Germany
October 22, 2014
CHANCELLOR MERKEL: (In German.)
Well, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to say that I am delighted to have the Secretary of State John Kerry here for the third time ever since he assumed office. And yesterday I understand the Secretary of State had the opportunity to have a lengthy discussion over dinner with the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and today too we have our work cut out for us. There are a number of international issues that will be on the agenda of our talks today – indeed, international issues that are on the agenda for all of us in this year 2014. There are many of those tasks, many of those issues, many very demanding issues, and all of these can only be mastered by us if we act together, if we act in close partnership and coordination with our partners and friends in the United States of America.
Let me mention the issues as we see them today. First of all, we want to discuss our fight against Islamic State, countermeasures that are to be taken against this terrorist threat that IS presents to all of us. Secondly, the Iranian nuclear program will be on the agenda; and third, the catastrophe that is Ebola; and fourth, we will also discuss the future of Afghanistan. We have a very short time, that is true, available to us, and as you can see, we have more than enough on our plate to fill this very short time.
So once again, let me say that I’m delighted to have the Secretary of State here, and let me use this opportunity to thank him for the excellent cooperation that we have always enjoyed with our American partners and friends on all of these areas. And let me also mention that I forgot one very important issue, obviously – namely, Ukraine-Russia. There too there is quite a lot on our plate, and so quite a lot of things to discuss. Again, all of these crises we can only tackle, we can only master if we act in concert, if we act together. Only then will be able to bring them, hopefully, towards a solution.
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you, Madam Chancellor. Thank you very, very much for making the time today to be able to meet. I know you’re very busy and I greatly appreciate the chance to sit down with you. President Obama, our administration, the American people have great respect for your leadership, and we appreciate enormously what Germany is doing on every single issue of critical importance today. I’m also mindful that I’m coming here today where I visited the old wall and met with some of your young kids who were asking questions about the future, none of whom had been born during that period of time. They were all post-Cold War.
And so even as we celebrate the fall of the wall and all that it symbolizes, it was very clear to me today, as it is to America, that the story of Germany is not the past – it’s the future, and what you are doing to define that future, leading Germany on so many issues to be a global leader. And I want to thank you, because on Ebola, you are contributing people, expertise, medivac capacity now, money, and Germany is one of the leaders in the effort to deal with this challenge.
On Ukraine, you and your foreign minister have been on the forefront of diplomacy. And your efforts with President Poroshenko, your personal interventions with President Putin, have been critical to helping to define the Minsk Agreement and to put us on a ramp to de-escalate and hopefully move away from conflict.
On ISIL, likewise, you made a very significant decision. Germany has stepped up, changed its own policy, and is helping to cooperate globally in law enforcement, as we’ve seen in the last days, but also to help to be at the forefront of fighting with the foreign fighters issue and ISIL itself.
On Iran, Germany is a critical partner in the P5+1 talks. And Foreign Minister Steinmeier and I talked at length yesterday about how we can hopefully seize this historic moment to be able to reduce that conflict and prove to the world that we can move towards a world without nuclear weapons, ultimately.
On Afghanistan, as you mentioned a few minutes ago, likewise, Germany is a key partner in the ongoing efforts to empower the people of Afghanistan to define their own future and to respect the sovereignty of the country. So all of these things, on every major challenge today, we are partnering. And we now need to obviously deal with economy, with growth. We hope that the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership can move forward, because all of our countries can benefit from the economic stimulation and growth that will come from that.
So we have a lot to talk about, as you said, a very little amount of time. But the time I spent last night was well spent, and I appreciate your making time today to have a personal exchange. I bring you President Obama’s great greeting, and again, our respect and gratitude for the strength of our relationship. Thank you.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH PHILIPPINE FOREIGN SECRETARY ROSARIO
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Philippine Foreign Secretary del Rosario Before Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Shangri-La Hotel
Jakarta, Indonesia
October 20, 2014
QUESTION: Could I just ask you a very brief question about the thinking that went into the air drops of the weapons and ammunition into Kobane?
SECRETARY KERRY: Absolutely.
QUESTION: And, for both of you, I'm wondering if you could talk -- say anything about how concerned, if at all you are, about the case of this Marine, American Marine, who's been accused of murder in the Philippines.
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, let me first take the occasion to welcome my friend, Albert del Rosario, the Foreign Minister from the Philippines. And we have been meeting now in many different occasions over the course of the last year and a half. And the Philippines is a very strong, long-term ally of ours. We are very grateful for the support on major crises of the day, particularly on ISIL and on the challenge of Ebola, which we will talk about a little bit now.
With respect to the resupply of Turkey, let me just say very, very respectfully to our allies, the Turks, that we understand fully the fundamentals of their opposition and ours to any kind of terrorist group, and particularly, obviously, the challenges they face with respect to the PKK. But we have undertaken a coalition effort to degrade and destroy ISIL. And ISIL is presenting itself in major numbers in this place called Kobane, and they have chosen to make this a grounded battle, attacking a small group of people there who, while they are a offshoot group of the folks that the -- our friends, the Turks, oppose, they are valiantly fighting ISIL.
And we cannot take our eye off the prize here. It would be irresponsible of us, as well as morally very difficult, to turn your back on a community fighting ISIL, as hard as it is, at this particular moment. And we talked with Turkish authorities -- I did, the President did -- to make it very, very clear this is not a shift of policy by the United States. It is a crisis moment, an emergency where we clearly do not want to see Kobane become a horrible example of the unwillingness of people to be able to help those who are fighting ISIL.
So, there is this momentary effort. But what we did say very clearly is, "Help us to get the Peshmerga or other groups in there who will continue this, and we don't need to do that." And I think that's very much the objective, and I think that's very much the way we are going.
So, our hope is that, indeed, Kurds who have proven themselves to be very strong and valiant fighters will take this fight on, and it won't be necessary for us to have this kind of delicate reach, if you will, in terms of people's different interests.
With respect to the Marine, whatever charges there are, whatever infractions have been affected by any American anywhere, we believe in the rule of law, and we believe in our agreement. It is very important for our agreements to be upheld. It is very important for the rule of law to be upheld, for his rights to be protected, but for the process to unfold appropriately. And we will, indeed, uphold our agreements with our friends in the Philippines; they deserve nothing less. The people of the Philippines who are gracious enough to permit an arrangement whereby we meet mutual interests with this kind of a force's presence need to know that we're not seeking a special privilege, that everybody's rights will be appropriately protected. And that's exactly what we will do here. Due process will play out, and we will work with the Philippines in order to make certain that rule of law and the agreement are upheld.
FOREIGN SECRETARY DEL ROSARIO: Well, you want me to talk about --
QUESTION: Well, I wonder if you're concerned that this is causing stress in an otherwise good relationship.
FOREIGN SECRETARY DEL ROSARIO: Well, I think we are concerned, and it's unfortunate that we had this tragic event. But, as my friend John had mentioned, we do have all the mechanisms in place so that justice can properly be served.
QUESTION: Thank you.
QUESTION: Thank you all.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you all very much. Appreciate it, thank you.
Monday, October 20, 2014
DEFENSE SECRETARY HAGEL, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA STATE COUNCILOR JIECHI MEET AT PENTAGON
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| U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, right, meets with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi, second from left, at the Pentagon, Oct. 20, 2014, to discuss matters of mutual importance. DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz. |
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Hagel, Chinese Leader Discuss Strengthening Cooperation
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2014 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met in the Pentagon today with People's Republic of China State Councilor Yang Jiechi, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby reported.
In a statement summarizing the meeting, Kirby said the two leaders discussed the importance of maintaining the positive momentum that has developed in the military-to-military relationship between the United States and China.
“They also reaffirmed their shared interest in strengthening cooperation on regional and global challenges,” he added, “and noted the potential for greater cooperation in several areas, to include providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief when crises arise, and containing the spread of Ebola in West Africa.”
Hagel and Yang both highlighted the importance of President Barack Obama's trip to Beijing in November and expressed a shared desire that the trip be a success, Kirby said.
STOPPING EBOLA: NSF FUNDS RESEARCH ON STOPPING EBOLA
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Halting the spread of Ebola: Nigeria a model for quick action, scientists find
Rapid control measures critical to stopping the virus in its tracks
Quick intervention is needed, according to the researchers, who recently published their findings in the journal Eurosurveillance.
Analyzing Ebola cases in Nigeria, a country with success in containing the disease, the scientists estimated the rate of fatality, transmission progression, proportion of health care workers infected, and the effect of control interventions on the size of the epidemic.
Rapid response needed
"Rapid control is necessary, as is demonstrated by the Nigerian success story," says Arizona State University (ASU) scientist Gerardo Chowell, senior author of the paper.
"This is critically important for countries in the West Africa region that are not yet affected by the Ebola epidemic, as well as for countries in other regions of the world that risk importation of the disease."
The research is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)-National Institutes of Health (NIH)-Department of Agriculture (USDA) Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID) Program.
"Controlling a deadly disease like Ebola requires understanding how it's likely to spread, and knowing the ways of managing that spread that are most likely to be effective," says Sam Scheiner, NSF EEID program director.
"Being able to respond quickly needs a foundation of knowledge acquired over many years. The work of these scientists is testimony to long-term funding by the EEID program."
Control measures in Nigeria
The largest Ebola outbreak to date is ongoing in West Africa, with more than 8,000 reported cases and 4,000 deaths. However, just 20 Ebola cases have been reported in Nigeria, with no new cases since early September.
All the cases in Nigeria stem from a single traveler returning from Liberia in July.
The study used epidemic modeling and computer simulations to project the size of the outbreak in Nigeria if control interventions had been implemented during various time periods after the initial case, and estimated how many cases had been prevented by the actual early interventions.
"This timely work demonstrates how computational simulations, informed by data from health care officials and the complex social web of contacts and activities, can be used to develop both preparedness plans and response scenarios," says Sylvia Spengler, program director in NSF's Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, which also supported the research.
Control measures implemented in Nigeria included holding all people showing Ebola symptoms in an isolation ward if they had had contact with the initial case. If Ebola was confirmed through testing, people diagnosed with the disease were moved to a treatment center.
Asymptomatic individuals were separated from those showing symptoms; those who tested negative without symptoms were discharged.
Those who tested negative but showed symptoms--fever, vomiting, sore throat and diarrhea--were observed and discharged after 21 days if they were then free of symptoms, while being kept apart from people who had tested positive.
Brief window of opportunity
Ebola transmission is dramatically influenced by how rapidly control measures are put into place.
"Actions taken by health authorities to contain the spread of disease sometimes can, perversely, spread it," says NSF-funded scientist Charles Perrings, also of ASU.
"In the Nigeria case, people who tested negative but had some of the symptoms were not put alongside others who tested positive," says Perrings. "So they had no incentive to flee, and their isolation did nothing to increase infection rates. Elsewhere in the region isolation policies have had a different effect."
The researchers found that the projected effect of control interventions in Nigeria ranged from 15-106 cases when interventions are put in place on day 3; 20-178 cases when implemented on day 10; 23-282 cases on day 20; 60-666 cases on day 30; 39-1,599 cases on day 40; and 93-2,771 on day 50.
The person who was initially infected generated 12 secondary cases in the first generation of the disease; five secondary cases were generated from those 12 in the second generation; and two secondary cases in the third generation.
That leads to a rough estimate of the reproduction number according to disease generation declining from 12 during the first generation, to approximately 0.4 during the second and third disease generations.
A reproductive number above 1.0 indicates that the disease has the potential to spread.
Recent estimates of the reproduction number for the ongoing Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone and Liberia range between 1.5 and 2 (two new cases for each single case), indicating that the outbreak has yet to be brought under control.
The effectiveness of the Nigerian response, scientists say, is illustrated by a dramatic decrease in the number of secondary cases over time.
The success story for Nigeria, they maintain, sets a hopeful example for other countries, including the United States.
Co-authors of the Eurosurveillance paper are Gerardo Chowell, Arizona State University; Folorunso Oludayo Fasina, University of Pretoria, South Africa; Aminu Shittu, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Nigeria; David Lazarus, National Veterinary Research Institute, Plateau State, Nigeria; Oyewale Tomori, Nigerian Academy of Science, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria; Lone Simonsen, George Washington University, Washington, D. C.; and Cecile Viboud, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.
-- Cheryl Dybas, NSF (
-- Julie Newberg, ASU
Related Programs
Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease
Sunday, October 19, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH CHINESE STATE COUNCILOR JIECHI
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi Before Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Taj Hotel
Boston, Massachusetts
October 18, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY: Good morning, everybody. I just want to say a couple things. First, my great pleasure to welcome the State Councilor of China Yang Jiechi to Boston. We have a great deal that we will be talking about and already began last night with a very informal and pleasant dinner. But there are many issues that China and the United States are cooperating on, even as we have some differences that we try to manage effectively. But right now, particularly on Ebola, on Afghanistan, on the Democratic Republic of North – of Korea, the North Korea nuclear situation, on Iran particularly, and on ISIL and counterterrorism, and on climate change. There are many areas where we are working hard.
So we look forward to some good discussions today. And on another note, I might just report we had a very positive step forward in Iraq today with the selection of a minister of the interior and a minister of defense. These were critical positions to be filled in order to assist with the organizing effort with respect to ISIL. So we’re very pleased. We congratulate Prime Minister Abadi and we look forward to working with them as we continue to grow the coalition and move forward.
So thank you for being here, State Councilor.
STATE COUNCILOR YANG: Well, friends from (inaudible), it’s a great pleasure to see you here today. (Inaudible) invitation of Secretary John Kerry, I have the great pleasure to visit this beautiful city of Boston. And the purpose of my visit to Boston and then to Washington is really to pave the ground for President Obama’s visit to China in November and also for participation of the President in the APEC informal leadership meeting to be hosted by China.
I think the Sunnylands meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Obama was very successful. Two countries have decided to work to build this new model of major country relationship between China and the United States. Since then, much progress has been made in our relationship. Lately, the Secretary himself went to China to participate in the S&ED discussion with the Chinese side. We believe that we should continue to work together to deepen our mutual trust and to put our efforts to the major areas of cooperation while on the basis of mutual respect we can properly handle any kind of difference between us.
I think the Asia Pacific region is a very important region. We need to work together to build up even more cooperation between China and the United States in the area because this is the area which has experienced robust economic development, and I’m sure that the APEC meeting will go further to bring about more connectivity, innovative development, and to shape a greater future for the region.
There are also quite a few issues in the world, as the Secretary State has mentioned. I believe that in terms of climate change, Ebola, and we have to address the (inaudible) issues and so on, so forth, China and the United States have a lot to discuss today and beyond.
I would like to thank the Secretary for his warm hospitality. I’m sure that our discussion will be both constructive and productive. I’m sure that China-U.S. relationship will be on the way up.
Thank you very much.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS ON EBOLA AND THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks on the U.S. Response to Ebola for Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Benjamin Franklin Room
Washington, DC
October 17, 2014
I know that there’s no shortage of demands on all of your time, so we really do appreciate and I know President Obama appreciates your coming in here this morning for this very important briefing. And I’m particularly grateful to Nancy Powell, who’s leading our efforts against Ebola at the State Department, and you’ll hear from her and from others who are on the front lines of our efforts to respond to this challenge. We thought it was critically important to bring everybody here together so you could hear from the experts and really get a chance to understand and report back to your governments about our efforts and where we’re heading.
We are very privileged in Washington, in the United States, to have here one of the most distinguished diplomatic corps that is posted anywhere in the world. Few cities are home to so many ambassadors with so much experience, which is why you come here, and so much global expertise and influence, frankly. So that’s why coming together here this morning really does represent a special opportunity to deal with this moment. Meeting this crisis is going to require that we draw on each other’s collective experience and our collective capacities. No one country, no individual group of nations is going to resolve this problem by themselves. This is going to take a collective, global response – all hands on deck. That’s the only way to get it done. And we believe that coming together here this morning can be an important beginning in really creating the kind of global response necessary.
Now I know you don’t need me to tell you what we’re up against, and I’m sure you’ve heard it from your own capitals, and every time you turn on the television or the radio, you hear or see gripping scenes that tell us in real terms about this challenge. There’s no way to describe the scenes from West Africa other than just heart-wrenching, gut-wrenching. And the images of a pregnant woman being turned away from a hospital on the – and she’s on the verge of collapse, or of men and women dying on the streets, their children orphaned, and a lot of hopeful nations working to plant the seeds of prosperity and open societies now suddenly battling a brutal epidemic.
So it’s not just the suffering that we see or the potential risks that we face that make this a different kind of crisis for us as diplomats. We live in a world of a lot of close calls, tough decisions on a daily basis, difficult and contentious issues where you can have an honest disagreement about what the best course of action is or about what the facts are or the results of your decision may be.
Ebola is not one of them. It should not be contentious with respect to the facts or what is needed or how we proceed. We know the risks. We know the science. We know the medical certainties. We know what is required to beat back this epidemic. And right now, we know that this is a time for nothing less than brutal honesty with each other about what we need, in both the capabilities that we need in order to meet this crisis and the real ways on the ground and the kinds of cash contributions – yes, cash contributions – that we need to fund these efforts for the months to come. And the fact is we haven’t begun yet to fully meet the challenge at hand.
So there are specific needs that we can meet right now. We need 200 flatbed trucks and 350 of so-called soft-skinned vehicles for transport of aid and resources. We need more helicopters and capable crews who can get to work right away. We need more mobile laboratories, treatment centers and beds. We need more incinerators and more generators. Most of all, we need more of the courageous healthcare workers that we see making an incredible contribution right now on the ground, and we need to do everything that we can to provide these men and women the protective equipment and the treatment that they need.
Now, we know this – the things that we can do and that we need to do. We know even in the cases of Texas, for instance, know that protocols are perhaps not followed in some instance or another. So there are ways, because we have plenty of people working who are treating people who are not getting it, and plenty of people who have been surrounding and around it who don’t get it. So the fact is that you have to come in contact. And as long as you can make certain that that is not happening during those critical periods of incubation, there are ways to contain this.
As President Obama has said repeatedly, we approach this with humility and we approach this with a huge sense of purpose, but we know that no matter what we do, we’re not going to be able to do it alone. We’re proud of the fact that we’ve contributed $258 million most recently and we’re also delivering support in some very unique ways that only the U.S. military can provide, and that’s why we’re sending as many as 4,000 troops to the region. And that’s why we’re allocating up to one billion more for our armed forces for this purpose. And that’s why we’re creating 17 Ebola treatment units and providing support right now for the mobile laboratories and the communications infrastructure.
We are using every instrument of American power in order to try to get this job done, and as many of you know, I’ve been making a number of phone calls each day to my counterparts from your countries in order to encourage concrete steps. And we’ve been raising this issue in every single bilateral meeting that I have, but we know that nothing that one, two, three countries do together is going to solve it. We have to all be engaged in this. There is no country that is exempt from being able to do something to be able to contribute to this effort and help make a difference. And everything we do depends on how we coordinate our efforts as partners in how we contribute together.
Now already we are seeing nations large and small stepping up in impressive ways to make a contribution on the frontlines. Timor-Leste has donated $2 million. Cuba, a country of just 11 million people has sent 165 health professionals, and it plans to send nearly 300 more. We want to thank France for committing 70 million euro and for those response in Guinea, where they’ve taken on special responsibilities. And we want to thank the United Kingdom for the Ebola treatment units that they are building in Sierra Leone, and Germany has significantly stepped up its efforts, including offering their facilities to treat healthcare workers. The European Union is organizing medevac capacity and contributing 140 million euro, and the World Bank and IMF have committed more than $678 million. The African Union is moving to send trained emergency responders to West Africa.
But no matter what we have already committed, it is clear, every one of us, that we have to do more, and we have to do it quickly. So of the one billion in needs that are estimated by the UN, I regret to say we are barely a third of the way there. If we don’t adequately address this current outbreak now, then Ebola has the potential to become a scourge like HIV or polio, that we will end up fighting, all of us, for decades. And we shouldn’t kid ourselves. Winning this fight is going to be costly, it is going to take all of our efforts, and it is not risk-free. Nobody knows that better than the healthcare workers on the front lines right now. And whatever the differences there are between us in this room on one issue or another, on one attitude or another, the fact is everyone I know respects and admires the courage of any healthcare worker who is undertaking this challenge.
So let’s make sure that those healthcare workers aren’t hanging out there by themselves. Let’s make sure that we’re pulling together the resources, the equipment, the commitment, the cash to support their efforts. And let’s make sure that their courage is motivating us every step of the way. For these men and women to succeed, they need nothing less than our full commitment, which is why we’ve asked you to come forward here today. This is a matter of real people, real lives, in countries that were beginning to take off, countries that were beginning to see the future and feel it, and suddenly they’ve been hit by this. This engages all of us, and it is a real test of global citizenship. So today in this room, we have a unique opportunity to try to come together to make important contributions. I’ve touched on some of the urgent needs. There is nobody, frankly, who can more competently explain where we stand, who knows what is at stake better than Ambassador Nancy Powell.
A lot of you know her very, very well because she has served alongside you. She’s one of the very few five-time ambassadors at the State Department. And partly because of what she has already done once before to spread – to help prevent the spread of a pandemic, which she did – she’s already one of the most accomplished people to have to deal with this challenge and one of the best diplomats we could think of in order to help us all do what we need to do. So ladies and gentlemen, Nancy Powell. (Applause.)
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
WHITE HOUSE READOUTS OF PRESIDENT'S CALL WITH PRIME MINISTER ABE OF JAPAN AND VIDEO CONFERENCE WITH EUROPEAN LEADERS
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
October 15, 2014
Readout of the President’s Call with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
October 15, 2014
Readout of the President's Video Conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi
Today, the President participated in a video conference with his counterparts Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom, President François Hollande of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi of Italy. The group discussed the international response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, including steps that are being taken to counter the spread of the disease. The President stressed the need for a faster and more robust international response to the Ebola epidemic, and underscored the need to increase assistance and international contributions for Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. The leaders agreed to work together to enlist greater support from more countries and to coordinate their efforts on the ground. President Obama made clear that the world must marshal the finances as well as the international personnel required to bend the curve of the epidemic, noting that it constitutes a human tragedy as well as a threat to international security.
On ISIL, the group reviewed coalition efforts to date in the campaign to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL in Iraq and Syria, including stemming the flow of foreign fighters and building the capabilities of the Iraqi Security Forces and the moderate Syrian opposition. The President stressed that the military dimension of the campaign is just one aspect of the broader effort to counter ISIL. He noted the importance of countering ISIL propaganda, and our ongoing efforts to put forward an affirmative vision that contrasts with ISIL’s violent and hateful ideology. The leaders also agreed that the coalition will continue to coordinate in order to counter sources of ISIL funding.
On Ukraine, the leaders discussed the need for Russia to fulfill all of its obligations under the Minsk agreements. Additionally, they discussed efforts to work alongside international financial institutions to support Ukraine’s economy.
The President looks forward to continuing his conversations with his counterparts.
CDC/FRONTIER AIRLINES ASK PASSENGERS ON PLANE WITH 2ND EBOLA PATIENT TO CALL CDC
FROM: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
CDC and Frontier Airlines Announce Passenger Notification Underway
Because of the proximity in time between the evening flight and first report of illness the following morning, CDC is reaching out to passengers who flew on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth Oct. 13.
CDC is asking all 132 passengers on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth on October 13 (the flight route was Cleveland to Dallas Fort Worth and landed at 8:16 p.m. CT) to call 1 800-CDC INFO (1 800 232-4636). After 1 p.m. ET, public health professionals will begin interviewing passengers about the flight, answering their questions, and arranging follow up. Individuals who are determined to be at any potential risk will be actively monitored.
The healthcare worker exhibited no signs or symptoms of illness while on flight 1143, according to the crew. Frontier is working closely with CDC to identify and notify passengers who may have traveled on flight 1143 on Oct. 13. Passengers who may have traveled on flight 1143 should contact CDC at 1 800-CDC INFO (1 800 232-4636).
Frontier Airlines Statement
“At approximately 1:00 a.m. MT on October 15, Frontier was notified by the CDC that a customer traveling on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth on Oct. 13 has since tested positive for the Ebola virus. The flight landed in Dallas/Fort Worth at 8:16 p.m. local and remained overnight at the airport having completed its flying for the day at which point the aircraft received a thorough cleaning per our normal procedures which is consistent with CDC guidelines prior to returning to service the next day. It was also cleaned again in Cleveland last night. Previously the customer had traveled from Dallas Fort Worth to Cleveland on Frontier flight 1142 on October 10.
Customer exhibited no symptoms or sign of illness while on flight 1143, according to the crew. Frontier responded immediately upon notification from the CDC by removing the aircraft from service and is working closely with CDC to identify and contact customers who may traveled on flight 1143.
Customers who may have traveled on either flight should contact CDC at 1 800 CDC-INFO.
The safety and security of our customers and employees is our primary concern. Frontier will continue to work closely with CDC and other governmental agencies to ensure proper protocols and procedures are being followed.”
WHITE HOUSE READOUT: HOMELAND SECURITY ASSISTANT MEETS WITH NEW YOUR CITY OFFICIALS
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
October 14, 2014
Readout of Lisa Monaco’s Meeting with New York City Officials
The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, Lisa Monaco, met at the White House this afternoon with New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio and New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton to discuss strengthening federal, state, and local coordination on counterterrorism issues as well as the U.S. government’s response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. On counterterrorism, they reviewed threat streams overseas associated with al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and the Khorasan Group, and discussed measures to take to better protect the U.S. homeland from potential threats posed by these groups as well as homegrown violent extremists. They specifically noted the threat from foreign fighters, including Western passport-holders, and the comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy to counter it. On Ebola, they reviewed the status of additional airport screening measures that were implemented at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport on Saturday and that will be rolled out later this week at Newark and other domestic airports. They also reviewed ongoing efforts to prepare hospitals and healthcare workers nationwide, including in New York City, to identify and treat Ebola patients safely and effectively.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
U.S. PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE MAKES REMARKS ON EBOLA TO UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S. Mission to the United Nations: Remarks at a General Assembly Session on Ebola
10/10/2014 04:50 PM EDT
Samantha Power
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
New York, NY
October 10, 2014
Minister Gwenigale and Minister Fofanah and our distinguished colleague from Guinea, you are on the front lines of this struggle. We are humbled by the brave efforts of your people and stand by you as you face this unprecedented challenge. Everyone in this room must heed the urgent calls you have made today.
This is our 4th time convening at the highest levels of the United Nations to respond to the Ebola crisis. At the first Security Council meeting on September 18th, 134 nations came together to pass a resolution pledging to tackle this deadly outbreak with urgency and vigor – the greatest number of co-sponsors in the UN’s history.
Since then, some countries have punched far above their weight. Cuba – a country of just 11 million people – has already sent 165 health professionals to the region and plans to send nearly 300 more. Timor-Leste pledged $2 million to the effort – what the Prime Minister Gusmao called an act of “Fragile-to-Fragile” cooperation, from one conflict-affected country to others.
Under President Obama’s lead, the United States has contributed more than $156 million to fighting Ebola and deployed more than 100 experts from our CDC. We’re committed to sending 4,000 U.S. forces to the region – a number that will continue to adapt to mission requirements. These forces will oversee the construction of 17 100-bed Ebola Treatment Units, establish a regional training hub where we will train up to 500 local health care providers each week, and provide crucial logistic support to the complex regional operation.
But more countries need to step up. And those of us who have made commitments need to dig deeper and deliver faster. According to the UN’s financial tracking service, only 24 countries have pledged $1 million or more to the effort. Twenty-four countries. The Secretary General has said we need 20 times the international aid that has been pledged so far.
The need is growing, and it is growing fast. The longer we wait to meet it, the bigger the gaps grow, and the harder the epidemic gets to control. In Guinea and Sierra Leone, the number of infections is projected to double every month; in Liberia, infections are projected to double every 2 weeks.
We are facing the challenge of a generation. Every government, every organization, every business, every individual, needs to determine what the absolute maximum is that it can do, and then reach further. That is the only way that we can collectively bend the horrifying curve of this epidemic’s projected growth.
By failing to step up, the world is letting down every one of the courageous individuals on the front lines of this crisis. When we fail to provide doctors and nurses with more clinics and beds, they are the ones who have to turn away sick children, women, and men. Yet we have only a quarter of the beds that we need in Liberia and Sierra Leone. When we fail to ensure burial teams have the protective suits they need, they and their families are the ones who get sick. Yet more than 400 health care workers have been infected, and at least 232 of them have died. We are asking too much of these people. We have to ask much more of ourselves.
As the world’s response lags, Ebola’s spread is having a devastating impact beyond the individuals it infects. Its victims include children’s education in Sierra Leone, where schools have been closed since July. We know what is needed: more nurses, more doctors, more health workers and technicians, more treatment units with more beds and more labs, more protective gear, more medevac capacity, and more money to meet rising costs. As my Ugandan colleague has just described, we also need more education - much more education. If we provide these things, we can curb the spread of this deadly epidemic.
There is no better evidence of the potential to turn the tide than the infected patients who have already been cured in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, thanks to adequate medical care. For example, in just one Ebola Treatment Unit run by Médecins Sans Frontières in Paynesville, Liberia, 236 infected people have been cured. When discharged, patients are given a certificate affirming that they are healthy.
Recently, I watched a video of a woman being discharged from an MSF clinic. Her name was Jenneh Kromah. She had lost her sister and brother to Ebola, but thanks to MSF’s intervention, she survived her infection. After giving Jenneh her certificate, a doctor took off his protective glove and took hold of her hand: a simple, human gesture – but one that could be deadly when someone is infected. That touch, and the dignity and recovery it represents, should give all of us hope.
Until we are also thinking, though, about the taxi or bus that brought Jenneh to the clinic; or the family members who share her home and may also have been exposed to the virus; or all of the other people she may have come into contact with before arriving at the clinic; until we track all of those people and places, and so much more, victories like Jenneh’s and MSF’s will be pyrrhic ones.
And until we can promise the same dignified, quality attention that Jenneh received to every infected person in the affected countries, we will never get ahead of the outbreak. Until then, we will keep falling behind when we need to be surging ahead. The consequences of inaction, or of not enough action, are unacceptably high. And we have a responsibility to come together to meet this challenge.
Thank you.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY, U.K. FOREIGN SECRETARY HAMMOND MAKE REMARKS ON ISIL, EBOLA CRISIS
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Secretary's Remarks: Remarks With U.K. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond
10/08/2014 01:40 PM EDT
Remarks With U.K. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Treaty Room
Washington, DC
October 8, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY: Good morning, everybody. I’m very privileged to be here welcoming Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond to the State Department, and I’m even more privileged to work with him and to form a partnership that gives full gusto to the meaning of the special relationship that Great Britain and the United States share. So it is important for us to be continuing – I think we – Philip mentioned to me we’ve probably met eight times already in the course of a few weeks of his being on this job, having shifted from being defense secretary.
And we share a lot in this effort. In the fight against ISIL, the British people have already borne a very heavy burden, and it’s a pain felt personally by everybody in the United States and Great Britain as well. We’ve both seen our hostages brutally murdered in barbaric acts that shock the conscience of the world, but the response of both of our countries is not to wilt; it is to fight, to push back against this barbarity. And we are doing so.
I want to thank Foreign Secretary Hammond for the commitment the United Kingdom has made to the international coalition that will degrade and defeat ISIL over the next months, in the period ahead. The Royal Air Force is now conducting airstrikes on ISIL positions in Iraq, and the United Kingdom has provided some of the strongest humanitarian support in Iraq – more than $36 million in water and shelter, food, and medicine to save the lives of innocent people.
And the United States and the United Kingdom are also standing together as we battle Ebola in West Africa. And we are monitoring particularly this situation, and we’re very grateful for the way that Great Britain has now ramped up its efforts in Sierra Leone, including deploying a civil-military task force, constructing more than 700 beds in Ebola treatment unites, and providing essential supplies and personnel.
President Obama has made it crystal clear that Ebola is an urgent global crisis that demands an urgent global response. The United States has intensified every aspect of our engagement, and that includes providing Ebola treatment units, recruiting first responders, and supplying a critical set of medical equipment.
Just 48 hours ago, President Obama convened another strategy meeting at the White House in order to discuss where we are and where we need to get to, and I want to discuss that in a moment. But in addition to that, I have been in daily contact with Rajiv Shah and – the USAID director, and Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom, and our Ebola Coordinator Ambassador Nancy Powell, in order to make sure that we are bringing all of our resources to this effort.
I’m here this morning to make an urgent plea to countries in the world to step up even further. While we are making progress, we are not where we can say that we need to be. And there is additional – there are additional needs that have to be met in order for the global community to be able to properly respond to this challenge, and to make sure that we protect people in all of our countries.
There are specific needs, and I want to emphasize those needs by showing a few slides, if I can. As you’ll see in the first slide to my left here, we need more countries to move resources of specific kinds. It is not just a question of sending people, though it is vital to send people. But we need Ebola treatment units. We need health care workers. We need medevac capacity. We need mobile laboratory and staff. We need nonmedical support: telecommunications, generators, incinerators, public communications capacity, training, construction. We also need large assistance of health system strengthening, of cash that countries could contribute, budget support, food, other humanitarian efforts, and we need ways of getting that equipment to people.
All of these things are frankly urgent in order to be able to quickly move to contain the spread of Ebola. We need airlines to continue to operate in West Africa and we need borders to remain open. And we need to strengthen the medevac capacity. We need countries to contribute more Ebola treatment centers, and we need other African countries with the capacity to send responders to join the effort. And we need to make sure that the health care workers who go are properly trained, properly equipped, and supported in order to prevent additional infections.
Now, as you can see in the next slide to my left here, this gives you a sense of who has contributed and what they have contributed. And the fact is that the United Kingdom and the United States, between them, have contributed $120 million to the United Nations response. There are smaller countries that have stepped up to the plate – some quite remarkably. Some smaller countries are contributing way above their per capita population compared to other countries.
But the fact is more countries can and must step up in order to make their contributions felt, and this chart tells the story. Those are not enough countries to make the difference to be able to deal with this crisis. And we need more nations – every nation has an ability to do something on this challenge. And the next chart will show the – as you see, we have a shortfall still of some $300 million. The United Nations has identified $1 billion in urgent needs, which is what are reflected in that pie chart. The World Bank has put in 22 percent. The U.S.A. has put in 11 percent. Private sector, 10 percent. Others – you can see the tally.
But this unfunded is a critical component of our ability to be able to meet this challenge, and we need people to step up now. Now is the time for action, not words. And frankly, there is not a moment to waste in this effort.
Both Foreign Secretary Hammond and I also remain deeply committed on another issue, and that is the question of a Europe which is whole and free and at peace. Together with our partners in the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom are supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the Ukrainian Government’s efforts to implement important democratic reforms. We agree on the need for Russia to withdraw its forces immediately from Ukraine, to end its material support for separatists, and to meet its commitments under the Minsk ceasefire which they have agreed to, and to put in place the peace plan agreements.
Russia’s actions over the past months have challenged the most basic principles of our international system. Borders cannot and should not be redrawn at the barrel of a gun, and people have a right in their own country, within their sovereign borders, to determine their own future. So together with the G7, our European partners and other allies, we have made it clear that we are prepared to do even more to ensure that the international order prevails and that with one voice, we prove that we mean what we say and we say what we mean.
Finally, I want to mention that tomorrow morning, Foreign Secretary Hammond and I will travel to my hometown, Boston, to focus on an issue that animates President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron, both of whom – and which also demands all of our urgent attention, and that is our shared responsibility to confront climate change. I appreciate Foreign Secretary Hammond’s personal leadership on this issue. We can conclude a new international agreement that is ambitious, effective, and inclusive of all countries, particularly the largest greenhouse gas emitters, of which we are one. But we will also only get there in the end – even if one large emitter were to eliminate all of its emissions, that won’t do the job. We will only get there in the end if we make it clear that all countries must join in this effort and that inaction is not an option.
So Mr. Foreign Secretary, I’m delighted to welcome you here at this time of obvious significant global challenge. We greatly appreciate, as I said, your partnership, your leadership, and we look forward to continuing to work with you. Thank you.
FOREIGN SECRETARY HAMMOND: Thank you. Thank you very much, John. It’s a great pleasure to be back here in Washington, this time in my new role as foreign secretary. When I came here many times as defense secretary, I was always clear that the U.S. is Britain’s most important military partner. As foreign secretary, I’m equally clear that the United States it the UK’s greatest foreign policy ally. And the range of issues that we’ve discussed today and that the Secretary has outlined reflects how closely we work together on a huge range of issues in foreign affairs.
That relationship is based on our shared history, our shared values, and our longstanding cooperation on a range of global issues, from fighting the threat of extremism, promoting stability in countries such as Libya, dealing with the challenge to the established order in Ukraine, addressing global crises like Ebola, and promoting an ambitious EU-U.S. free trade agreement.
I want to begin, if I may, by paying tribute to Secretary Kerry for his energy and resolve in dealing with some of the most challenging foreign policy issues the world has faced for a while. I’ve only been in this job for three months, but as John said, we’ve already met eight or so times. Every week, we seem to be in a different city somewhere discussing these challenging issues that we’re having to deal with. And I’ve observed him in action. I’ve seen his tireless commitment and inexhaustible enthusiasm, which is the personification of U.S. leadership on these many, many challenges that we have to deal with together around the world.
And our meeting today comes at a pivotal moment in addressing the situation in Iraq and Syria and responding to the atrocities that are being committed by ISIL – atrocities that have been visited upon UK and U.S. citizens, but are also being felt by ordinary Muslims in Iraq and Syria every day of every week. It is clear that tackling ISIL requires a strong military response from the international community, but that has to be combined with a clear diplomatic plan to support the new Iraqi Government’s inclusive program; to hamper ISIL’s access to funds, fighters, and resources; and a political strategy to combat the poisonous ideology that underpins ISIL; and counter those trying to spread sectarian violence and hatred across the region and beyond.
We now have those elements in place, and I am pleased that Britain is playing a key role in that response, leading efforts at the UN to cut off ISIL funding, a long-running counter-radicalization program at home, and now RAF combat jets and surveillance assets contributing to the military response. Britain will continue to work closely with coalition partners on further actions that we can take across the international community to ensure that we tackle ISIL not just through military action but through all those other strands of action which are essential to ensure our long-term success.
We have also, as Secretary Kerry has said, discussed the situation in Ukraine and the crucial importance of implementing the 12-point peace plan. Ukraine is a sovereign country; its people are entitled to make their decisions about their country’s future. There can be no Russian veto on Ukrainian democracy. And Ukraine’s President Poroshenko will need continuing international support to ensure stability within the country and to ensure that the Ukraine is able to go on making decisions about its own future. And we spent some time this morning discussing ways in which the UK and the U.S. can work with other partners, international partners particularly in the European Union, to continue to support President Poroshenko in those efforts.
And of course, we spoke about the appalling situation in West Africa where the spread of Ebola virus is a real cause for concern. Last week we held – I chaired a conference in London on defeating Ebola, and I said then that the disease is an unprecedented threat that knows no borders. We have to get ahead of this disease, but if we get ahead of it, if we rise to the challenge, we can contain it and beat it. We know how to do this. It is not complicated to do. It just requires a large focus of resource and effort to deliver it.
And Secretary Kerry and I discussed the increased measures that the U.S. is leading in Liberia and that the UK is leading in Sierra Leone. We now need, as the Secretary has said, the wider international community to step up to the plate and deliver that additional resource – not just money, but trained medical and clinical personnel to lead that effort on the ground. We all have to do more if we are going to prevent what is currently a crisis from becoming a catastrophe.
The UK has committed over $200 million to the program in Sierra Leone. We have military and civilian teams on the ground, a construction program to deliver 700 Ebola treatment beds. This morning, I joined a COBRA emergency committee meeting in London by video link from the British Embassy here, and we decided at that meeting to deploy the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Argus to Freetown with three Merlin helicopters embarked to provide a communication and transport capability on the ground. We’re also conducting trials in Sierra Leone of a new model of Ebola care unit, a primary care triaging system for those with early stage symptoms of Ebola.
It’s also important that we remember that our national security is dependent upon our economic security. We can’t have a strong defense without a strong economy underpinning it. Later this afternoon, I will be holding a discussion at the Atlantic Council here in Washington on the benefits of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the United States and the EU. The UK remains committed to this ambitious deal and will be a cheerleader for it within the European Union. If we achieve it, it will create the largest free trade zone in the world, bringing more jobs and more growth to both Europe and the United States, and setting the standards for trade deals for many years to come, allowing us to establish our international standards as the standards for trade patents in the coming decades.
And tomorrow, I look forward to our visit to Massachusetts to tour the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s wind blade testing facility in Charlestown. John and I agree that climate change represents a strategic threat to global prosperity and to global security. Innovation and investment in clean energy technology must be at the heart of our response and can help us turn a threat into an economic opportunity. The UK and the U.S. will work together to ensure the world responds to this threat before it is too late, including through the conclusion of an effective global climate deal at Paris at the end of next year.
So once again, John, I’m delighted to be here. Thank you again for your leadership on these multiple challenges that face us, and I very much look forward to working with you across all of these areas of activity to preserve and to strengthen this very special relationship. Thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much.
MS. PSAKI: The first question will be from Elise Labott of CNN.
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. The U.S. intensified airstrikes overnight on Kobani. Has there been a decision now to save Kobani from falling? Because yesterday, your spokesman and other officials suggested that you had larger strategic priorities than saving Kobani or any particular city or town.
And I’d like to talk to you about the reluctance of Turkey. They have tanks at the border, soldiers at the ready, but this NATO ally has not done really much to save this town inches from its border. What did you ask the prime minister to do in recent conversations? The president has said that they won’t do more unless you act to get rid of Assad. Is this an excuse, and – or are you deferring to Turkey here? Have you not been partnering with the Kurds, who have been battling ISIS for a year and are decidedly secular, to save the city?
And Foreign Secretary, you spoke a lot about what you’re doing for the coalition, particularly in Iraq. But I’m wondering whether you see Britain furthering that action into Syria, or is there a kind of disagreement on whether the British should take part in airstrikes and what the goals are in Syria? Thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thanks. Thank you. Thanks, Elise. Well, we’re deeply concerned about the people of Kobani, who are battling against ISIL terrorists. And indeed, we have talked to the leaders of Turkey. I talked with Prime Minister Davutoglu, I think, twice yesterday and the day before. We have conducted additional strikes in the region. We conducted strikes both Monday and Tuesday and now. But as horrific as it is to watch in real time what’s happening in Kobani, it’s also important to remember that you have to step back and understand the strategic objective and where we have begun over the course of the last weeks.
We’re literally just coming out of the UN meeting at which we announced the coalition, literally have just been deploying the first efforts to liberate – as you know, a few weeks ago – Sinjar Mountain, the siege on Amirli, the Haditha Dam, the Mosul Dam, and we were very successful in those efforts. And the Iraqi forces within Iraq are standing up and have had some successes – some setbacks too – but some successes over the course of the last days.
But General Allen is literally only on his first trip right now in the region. He will be going to Turkey tomorrow. He is going to have long meetings through tomorrow and Friday in which we hope to determine exactly how Turkey will now enter this having resolved their hostage crisis. Clearly, on their border, this is of enormous concern to Turkey and they recognize that.
QUESTION: But where are they?
SECRETARY KERRY: These things have to be done in a thoughtful and careful way so everybody understands who is doing what and what the implications are of their doing it and where you go as a result. And I am absolutely confident that tomorrow, the discussions will take place directly with Ambassador McGurk and General Allen and CENTCOM. General Lloyd Austin is very much involved in directing those strikes now and in doing what he can within the framework of the current structure. But this is a structure that is evolving on a daily basis, and notwithstanding the crisis in Kobani, the original targets of our efforts have been the command and control centers, the infrastructure. We’re trying to deprive the – ISIL of the overall ability to wage this, not just in Kobani but throughout Syria and into Iraq. So I think you will see over the next hours, days the fullness of that strategy evolving and decisions being made about the Turks and others as to exactly what role they’re going to play.
FOREIGN SECRETARY HAMMOND: And following on from that, you asked about the UK’s position. We have – we were asked by the Iraqi Government to provide support in Iraq. We obtained parliamentary approval for that support and we’re already in action in Iraq. We absolutely have not ruled out playing a role in Syria. We will require further parliamentary approval if we decide that that is the right thing for us to do, but as Secretary Kerry said, this is a coalition. There are many players in it and many different tasks to be carried out. There’s some division of labor here, specialization of roles. And just as we wait to see exactly how Turkey will make its contribution to the coalition, so the UK is still considering whether the right way for us to make a contribution – the way in which we can most usefully add value to the coalition – is to extend our military permissions to operations in Syria. If we conclude that is the right thing to do, we’ll ask the British parliament for approval of that decision.
MS. PSAKI: The second question is from Peter Foster at Telegraph.
QUESTION: Thank you. My first question relates to Kobani and Syria. The French president has indicated he supports Turkish calls for a buffer zone. Do either have – either of you have any comment on that, and have any sense of what form a buffer zone might take and what purpose it might serve?
And just to follow up on British role – military role in the Iraq-Syria situation, the foreign secretary has indicated that Britain would be receptive to American requests if there was a specific military role that Britain could play. This question to Secretary Kerry: Do you see a useful role that Britain could play militarily in Syria? I think particularly if, say, Kobani, where our Brimstone missile could have a role in – it’s a very low-caliber missile. It could have a role in these very closed urban environments. Do you see America seeing a role for Britain in Syria?
FOREIGN SECRETARY HAMMOND: May I answer that question first? We are at the stage of exploring – as the Secretary said, this is very new territory. I mean, we’re only in the first week or two of the coalition’s existence and operation. The idea of a buffer zone is one that has been floated. We’d have to explore with other allies and partners what is meant by a buffer zone, how such a concept would work, but I certainly wouldn’t want to rule it out at this stage.
In terms of the UK’s potential military contribution in Syria, we would see this as a military question: Is there a militarily useful role that UK assets could play? And Secretary Kerry may want to say something about that, but I think this is a question for the military people. General Allen has his role; CENTCOM will be in the lead on this. If CENTCOM commanders see a specific role for UK military assets, I’m sure that they will not be slow in requesting them.
SECRETARY KERRY: Look, in broad, generic terms, can Great Britain be useful? Absolutely, in so many different ways. But this is, as Philip has just said, a specific determination that has to be made with respect to a very specific mission, and it’s up to General Austin, our CENTCOM commander, to make that decision. And he will do so with the appropriate consultation with his counterparts and with the President with respect to the overall mission. But in – there’s no question that we are very happy to have our friend and ally Great Britain as part of this, and there’s all kinds of things that we can do together in this endeavor.
QUESTION: And the buffer zone, Secretary?
SECRETARY KERRY: The buffer zone – as Philip said, the buffer zone is an idea that’s been out there. It’s worth examining. It’s worth looking at very, very closely. There are a million-plus refugees who have crossed the border. There were another 180,000 or so driven out in the last few days from Kobani. This should not be a problem that is thrust onto Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, where they bear an incredible burden with respect to their societies. And if Syrian citizens can return to Syria and be protected in an area across the border, there’s a lot that would commend that. But at the same time, you’d have to guarantee safety, guarantee there wouldn’t be attacks by the government, other kinds of things would have to happen. So it needs a thorough examination. We’re all in favor of looking at this very closely, and that will clearly be one of the things that General Allen will be having discussions on and, subsequently, the active line authority commanders will have discussions on over the course of the next days.
MS. PSAKI: Thank you, everyone.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you all.
U.S. AFRICA COMMANDER TELLS REPORTERS EFFORTS MADE TO PROTECT MILITARY PERSONNEL FROM EBOLA
Left: Army Gen. David M. Rodriguez, commander of U.S. Africa Command, describes the Defense Department's response to Ebola during a news conference at the Pentagon, Oct. 7, 2014. DoD photo by Air Force Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz.
Rodriguez Pledges Every Effort to Protect Military From Ebola
By Nick Simeone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2014 – Everything possible will be done to mitigate risks of exposure to Ebola by U.S. military personnel deployed to Liberia to contain the epidemic, the commander of U.S. Africa Command said today.
There are no plans for the U.S. military to provide direct care to Ebola patients, Army Gen. David M. Rodriguez told reporters at the Pentagon. Personnel from the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center will, however test for Ebola at mobile labs from samples collected from area clinics and health care providers.
Trained to guard against exposure
Rodriguez said the three or four people who will staff each lab will be trained to the highest level and will be prepared to guard against exposure.
“They can operate in a nuclear, biological and chemical environment,” he noted. “They are specifically trained to do that, and that's their primary skill set.”
Pressed by reporters to explain the risks to Americans operating the mobile labs, Rodriguez strongly discounted the likelihood of contamination. “It’s a very, very high standard that these people have operated in all their lives, and this is their primary skill,” he emphasized. “This is not just medical guys trained to do this.”
National security priority.
Seven such labs are expected to be set up in Liberia for Ebola testing. The U.S. military presence in the West African nation is expected to grow to up to 4,000, with personnel establishing a hospital facility and providing logistics and engineering support, as well as training of up to 500 health care workers per week to help treat patients and prevent the spread of the virus, which President Barack Obama yesterday called a national security priority.
Seventeen Ebola treatment facilities are expected to be set up in Liberia by November, Rodriguez said, acknowledging that the pace of operations has been challenging. “Their whole nation is overwhelmed,” the general said. “Their health facilities are overwhelmed. That’s all broken down, so we have to bring in everything at the same time.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called the Ebola outbreak in West Africa the largest in history, with more than 3,400 deaths reported. Nearly that number of cases alone has been reported in Liberia, where the disease continues to spread.
Ensuring safety of U.S. personnel
About 240 Defense Department personnel are currently in the Liberian capital of Monrovia, and another 108 are in nearby Senegal in support of U.S government efforts to stop the spread of the virus. More personnel are expected to flow into the region in the coming days, and Rodriguez said everything will be done to ensure their safety.
“By providing pre-deployment training, adhering to strict medical protocols while deployed and carrying out carefully planned reintegration measures based on risk and exposure,” the general told reporters, “I am confident that we can ensure our service members’ safety and the safety of their families and the American people.”
Rodriguez said the U.S. military could be deployed to Liberia in significant numbers for up to a year to support efforts led by the U.S. Agency for International Development to stop the spread of the virus.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Sunday, October 5, 2014
HHS RELEASES INFORMATION ON EBOLA FACTS
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
There’s all the difference in the world between the U.S. and parts of Africa where Ebola is spreading. The United States is prepared, and has a strong health care system and public health professionals who will make sure this case does not threaten our communities. As CDC Director Dr. Frieden has said, "I have no doubt that we will control this case of Ebola, so that it does not spread widely in this country."
Although Ebola is a highly destructive disease, it is not a highly contagious disease.
Here are the facts you should know about Ebola:
What is Ebola? Ebola virus is the cause of a viral hemorrhagic fever disease. Symptoms include: fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, lack of appetite, and abnormal bleeding. Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to ebolavirus though 8-10 days is most common.
How is Ebola transmitted? Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected symptomatic person or though exposure to objects (such as needles) that have been contaminated with infected secretions.
Can Ebola be transmitted through the air? No. Ebola is not a respiratory disease like the flu, so it is not transmitted through the air.
Can I get Ebola from contaminated food or water? No. Ebola is not transmitted through food in the United States. It is not transmitted through water.
Can I get Ebola from a person who is infected but doesn’t have any symptoms? No. Individuals who are not symptomatic are not contagious. In order for the virus to be transmitted, an individual would have to have direct contact with an individual who is experiencing symptoms or has died of the disease.
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