Obama announces Eric Holder #39;s resignation - LoneWolf Sager
President Obama announces that Attorney General Eric Holder will step down. - LoneWolf The Three Muskadoggies "Please.... Remember Our Homeless, Hospitalized Disabled Veterans Fallen...
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Obama announces Eric Holder's resignation - LoneWolf Sager - Video
The Modi-Obama Summit Policy Brief: Panel Discussion, September 19th
Shyam Saran (Former Foreign Secretary and Chairman, RIS), Arvind Virmani (Chintan), Subir Gokarn (Director of Research, Brookings India), WPS Sidhu (Senior Fellow, Brookings India) and Suhasini...
By: Brookings India
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The Modi-Obama Summit Policy Brief: Panel Discussion, September 19th - Video
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
(CNN) -- The West Africa Ebola outbreak is "a growing threat to regional and global security," U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday, telling a high-level meeting on the deadly epidemic at the U.N. General Assembly that only an international response can prevent "a humanitarian catastrophe across the region."
"If ever there were a public health emergency deserving of an urgent, strong and coordinated international response, this is it," the President said.
Obama has declared the epidemic -- which is centered in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- a national security priority amid fears it could spread farther afield and claim many more lives.
"This is more than a health crisis," he said. "This is a growing threat to regional and global security. In Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, public health systems are near collapse. Economic growth is slowing dramatically. If this epidemic is not stopped, this disease could cause a humanitarian catastrophe across the region."
The President singled out Sierra Leone, where on Wednesday the government declared a success a three-day nationwide lockdown put in place to help stop the spread of Ebola, saying it had revealed more cases hidden in the community. Under the plan, no one was allowed to leave their homes for three days, from September 19 to 21, allowing volunteers to go door-to-door to educate people about the deadly virus.
"The courageous men and women fighting on the front lines of this disease have told us what they need: more beds, more supplies and more health workers, as fast as possible," Obama said. "Right now, patients are being left to die in the streets. ... One health worker in Sierra Leone compared fighting this outbreak to 'fighting a forest fire with spray bottles.' "
Obama called the outbreak an "urgent threat to the people of West Africa but also a potential threat to the world." A rapid global response to the crisis "could be the difference between tens of thousands of people dying and perhaps a million people dying," he said.
The President also highlighted United States' efforts to help, including establishing a military command in Liberia to support civilian efforts. But he urged international organizations and businesses to move faster to mobilize partners on the ground, and nations to contribute everything from air transport to health care workers to equipment.
"We are not moving fast enough; we are not doing enough," Obama said. "Right now, everybody has the best of intentions, but people are not putting in the kinds of resources that are necessary to put a stop to this epidemic."
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Obama: Ebola threat to security
President Barack Obama urged countries, foundations and businesses to step up contributions to the global response to Ebola, calling the disease a threat to the world while emphasizing that the U.S. would keep leading the effort.
I want us to be clear: we are not moving fast enough, Obama said at a meeting on the Ebola outbreak held alongside this weeks United Nations General Assembly session in New York. Right now everybody has the best of intentions, but people are not putting in the kinds of resources that are necessary to put a stop to this epidemic.
The outbreak has hit Liberia hardest and affected four other West African countries, killing at least 2,900 people and infecting at least 6,200, according to the World Health Organization report. The World Bank has said the economic costs of the outbreak will be catastrophic if the virus continues to spread.
Ebola is raging. It kills more than 200 people a day, two thirds of them women, said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who headed todays meeting. Despite the valiant efforts of local communities, health systems are buckling under the strain.
The disease may cost Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three nations with the most infections, as much as $809 million, the World Bank said on Sept. 17.
The outbreak has made clear the need for faster action in the future, Ban said. He suggested creating an international standby corps of medical professionals backed by the WHO and the UNs logistical capacity, similar to UN peacekeepers that prevent conflicts and rebuild countries torn by war.
This crisis has highlighted the need to strengthen early identification systems and early action, Ban said. Just as our troops in blue helmets help keep people safe, a corps in white coats could help keep people healthy.
Obama pledged Sept. 16 to send 3,000 troops to the region and help build many as 20 100-bed treatment centers. Obama said the U.S. also would train about 500 health-care providers. Troops have started arriving in Liberia, and are assessing sites for the treatment units.
Much of the current effort has been handled by not-for-profit aid and missionary groups. Rick Sacra, a U.S. doctor infected in Liberias capital, Monrovia, was released from a Nebraska hospital today after being flown to the U.S. for treatment.
I feel great except that I am extremely weak, he said at a press conference at Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha. I view Liberia as my second home so I think the odds are good that Ill be back.
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Obama Urges Countries, Businesses to Boost Ebola Response
Michelle Obama speaks at U.N. education event
First lady Michelle Obama is expected to give the keynote address at the United Nation #39;s Global Education First Initiative #39;s event at U.N. headquarters.
By: Washington Post
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Michelle Obama speaks at U.N. education event - Video