The Ebola Outbreak: A Global Conversation and Resources

The current outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever has captured the world’s attention for the past several months. Centered in West Africa (with a few isolated cases in the United States and Europe), this ongoing crisis has been deemed a “public health emergency of international concern” as well as a global security threat. As national governments and international bodies struggle to contain this outbreak, a number of issues have come to the fore – which include global and national governance, health systems strengthening, public health preparedness – and more fundamentally, questions of ethics, human rights, and social justice.

To respond to some of these questions, the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, and Georgetown University Law Library are pleased to announce the launch of “The Ebola Outbreak: A Global Conversation and Resources.”

This university-wide resource on the current Ebola Outbreak highlights the expertise across all campuses within Georgetown University to inform and assist our university community, members of the interested public, and those working to contain, treat, and prevent Ebola.

Georgetown faculty are exploring the impact and implications of the crisis from various perspectives, including infectious disease control, global health law, national security, human rights, epidemiology, and public health preparedness.

The site should be considered a real-time tool, and additional contributions will be included as they are developed and disseminated. Resources are available through scholarly publications, blog posts, events, news articles, and useful links. Examples of some recent materials include:

• October 7 – Gostin, Lawrence O. and Eric A. Friedman “Ebola: a crisis in global health leadership.” The Lancet (2014).
• September 23 – The Ebola Crisis: Context, Systemic Challenges, Consequences – (CSPAN Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4) – Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
• September 19 – 10 Resources to Help You Get a Handle on the Ebola Epidemic-Daniel Hougendobler and Sarah Roache
• August 25 – Goodman, Jesse L. “Studying “Secret Serums” – Toward Safe, Effective Ebola Treatments.” New England Journal of Medicine (2014)
• August 22 – PLoS Medicine Blog: The Global Response to the Ebola Fever Epidemic: What Took So Long? – Mark J. Siedner and John D. Kraemer

Georgetown University Media Relations from our various campuses have also compiled a roster of faculty experts on this topic. To arrange interviews, please contact a Media Relations representative or call (202) 687-4328.

The Ebola Outbreak: A Global Conversation and Resources can be accessed here: https://bioethics.georgetown.edu/ebola/. For any questions about this resource, please contact Mark Hakkarinen, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, or Susan Kim, O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law.