My Opinion on the Response to the Ebola Outbreak

Hello again! Today I will be discussing and giving my opinion on the Ebola outbreak that has taken more than 2,000 lives. The Ebola virus has been around for years, however, there has never been an outbreak as large as the one during 2014. This deadly virus has no known cure or vaccine, which makes it even deadly for countries without proper medical supplies and facilities. The West African countries affected do not have the ability to contain the virus and don’t have enough high quality medical supplies to prevent the virus from spreading and killing people. This epidemic needs to be contained and I believe it is necessary for countries like the United States to help fight Ebola.

 

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The US and other powerful first world countries should begin to provide more relief, supplies and even share knowledge on a treatment for Ebola with the countries of West Africa. I feel like it is the duty of countries with more resources to help those with little resources or else many more people are going to do when those infected could be saved. The US could assist countries in controlling the epidemic by giving them medical supplies, creating isolation units and even preventing family members and others from contact with infected people. These would be difficult to successfully get to the right people, however, once the supplies and personnel reach the hospitals and clinics, I believe any support would help the situation.

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I also think the US and other countries should continue to research a vaccine and collaborate with one another to find a vaccine quicker. There are concerns that the vaccine would get into the wrong hands, however I believed if the virus is handled and transported properly and the proper precautions are taken, the benefits will outweigh the risks. Sharing knowledge and resources are the most important and helpful actions the US can take to assist those in West Africa and prevent an even bigger outbreak. To learn more about the Ebola virus, what contributions are being made and how you can help, click on the following links:

1. World Health Organization and information about the disease itself
2. Doctors Without Borders efforts
3. Red Cross efforts

Also, CBS and BBC each have good news and video coverage of Ebola and what’s currently happening. I watched some and found them very useful, so I encourage you to check them out as well! Feel free to leave comments and give your take on the situation. And as always, thanks for reading!

FLOW: Response

Hello again! Today I’m going to be talking about the movie FLOW and the associated problems with water control and distribution in the world.

The film, FLOW: For Love of Water, is a documentary that discussed water, water in poorer countries and areas and the privatization of water in the US and other countries abroad. Water is a precious resource and before watching this film, I had not realized how limited water is to poorer nations and as a resource in general. Nations in Africa, areas in India and other underdeveloped areas must walk miles to get unfiltered, unclean water because they do not want to pay the high prices of tap water set by greedy, multi-national corporations.

 Pictures found here and here

Seeing videos of people walking miles for unclean and unsafe water was a real wake up call to me. I knew not everybody had access to clean water, but I did not think that people would be forced to put their lives on the line because they have no other source or the source is too expensive. Big corporations, like Nestle, try to “donate” and make it seem like they are putting real effort in to making wells and making water cheaper, however, big corporations only care about profit and their stockholders and even these “relief efforts” make profit for the company.

 Picture found here

FLOW opened my eyes to the reality of the water crisis worldwide and I have realized that more action from, people that are more privileged and have the ability to donate, is necessary. I am going to be more aware of the water I use and how to conserve it, as well as participating in any efforts to help those without water through donations and other relief efforts. There is a YouTube video below that briefly addresses the water crisis as a whole, I encourage you to check it out! If you want to get more involved and donate, learn more or help with efforts to improve water distribution worldwide, click here, here or here for more information and places to donate.

Thanks for reading!

 

Disclaimer: FLOW, the pictures and the YouTube video are not created by me.