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The last piece of the article is painful to read. Anyone know how we can contribute to supplies, etc to fight Ebola? "A Desperate Call for Help By June and Ju
by Zaheer 12y ago
The last piece of the article is painful to read. Anyone know how we can contribute to supplies, etc to fight Ebola?
"A Desperate Call for Help
By June and July, Sierra Leone was becoming the center of the outbreak. At the government hospital in Kenema, Dr. Sheik Umar Khan was leading the efforts to treat patients and control the epidemic.
But he was desperate for supplies: chlorine for disinfection, gloves, goggles, protective suits, rudimentary sugar and salt solutions to fight dehydration and give patients a chance to survive. Early in July, he emailed friends and former medical school classmates in the United States, asking for their help and sending a spreadsheet listing what he needed, and what he had. Many of the lines in the “available” column were empty. One of his requests was for body bags: 3,000 adult, 2,000 child.
Before his friends could send the supplies, Dr. Khan contracted Ebola himself. He died on July 29."
- cmrivers 12y agoMedecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) is an excellent choice. They have been integral to controlling several past Ebola outbreaks, and have been fighting this one since the beginning. They are almost entirely tapped out right now. http://www.msf.org http://www.msf.org I can't vouch for them, but the Liberian Ministry of Health also has donation instructions: http://www.mohsw.gov.lr http://www.mohsw.gov.lr
- ihodes 12y agoNot sure why you say MSF is "almost entirely tapped out"—from MSF's website "Please note that Doctors Without Borders' response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is fully funded." Nevertheless, they're a pretty excellent charity to donate to (c.f. http://www.givewell.org/international/charities/doctors-without-borders http://www.givewell.org/international/charities/doctors-with... and note they spend over 85% of funds on programs [~12% on fundraising, and ~1% on management]).
- cmrivers 12y agoYou're right, I revisited the article that gave me that impression [0], and it's very clear that staffing is the resource that is exhausted. Nonetheless, it's an excellent organization and a worthy cause in my opinion. [0] http://www.msf.org.uk/article/ebola-official-msf-response-who-declaring-epidemic-extraordinary-event http://www.msf.org.uk/article/ebola-official-msf-response-wh...
- timr 12y agoThey're also one of the few charities to whom I donate that doesn't spam me to death after the donation. Give money to the MSF, and you get a few letters a year about what they're doing. More charities should be like that.
- jackweirdy 12y agoNot to mention they don't push any religious agenda while they're out there. They do good work for its own sake.
- JumpCrisscross 12y agoWrong. This is a stupid worthless comment. Everyone who contributed to it should be fired.