The African Student Union will be hosting an Ebola Epidemic Panel Discussion on Sept. 26. The goal of this panel is to raise awareness of the current Ebola epidemic that is taking place in West Africa.
With more than 5,500 people sickened by the Ebola virus in West Africa, Ohio University students and faculty are trying to support efforts to fight the disease.
The African Student Union will be hosting an Ebola Epidemic Panel Discussion on Sept. 26. The goal of this panel is to raise awareness of the current Ebola epidemic that is taking place in West Africa.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 2,500 people have been killed by the virus in about six months.
“It is important for students to realize that we currently live in a global society and all it takes is one infected person to get on a plane to the U.S. or Europe and that one person will expose hundreds of people to the virus,” said Tania Basta, associate professor in the Department of Social and Public Health.
The panel will also introduce a campus-wide fundraiser. Proceeds will be given to Doctors Without Borders in order to help control the outbreak in affected countries. Doctors Without Borders is a non-profit organization that was founded to provide medical care where it is needed most.
“They were the first to respond to the current outbreak in West Africa and, in fact, their doctors were the first to predict that this outbreak could be catastrophic if not properly contained,” Basta said.
Nancy Stevens, a professor in the department of Biomedical Sciences, and Zelalem Haile, assistant professor of Epidemiology, are also participating in the panel. Toluwani Adekunle and Ibrahim Sesay are two graduate students from Nigeria and Sierra Leone, respectively, and members of the African Student Union. They will also partake in the panel. Caroline Kingori, assistant professor in the Department of Social and Public Health, will be the moderator.
Those who attend can expect basic information about the Ebola virus, and the epidemic in general, presented to them in a brief lecture. The remaining time will be spent on answering and discussing audience questions.
“We cannot always assume that everybody knows what is going on,” said Sesay, the social and organizing secretary of the Union. “We hope to have a good turnout of students and faculty members so we can raise awareness and have subsequent discussion of the epidemic. I believe that after the panel, more people will be on board to help victims.”
To donate to Doctors Without Borders to support their efforts to fight ebola, visit www.gofundme.com/support-for-ebola.
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