Global Health

A child receives a polio vaccine during National Immunization Days in the Nigerian city of Kano.

It Turns Out That Fighting Polio Is Good Training To Fight Ebola

4:31pm November 03, 2014

by Joanne Silberner

Nigeria knows how to beat back polio. And that's helped in the battle against Ebola. But other West African countries are struggling to beat the deadly virus — and neglecting anti-polio efforts.

Children play in the West Point neighborhood of Monrovia last week. West Point has been hit hard by Ebola. So local leaders formed their own Ebola task force, which goes door to door looking for cases.

How Liberia Is Starting To Beat Ebola, With Fingers Crossed

12:04pm November 03, 2014

by Michaeleen Doucleff

There's potentially some good news about Ebola: While cases are still rising in Sierra Leone, the outbreak shows signs of slowing in Liberia. Communities are banding together to get Ebola out.

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Man, that PPE is hot. And not in a good way. One challenge for the designers was to come up a way to give health workers more time in personal protective equipment without overheating.

Ebola Design Challenge Says Yes To The Wedding Dress Designer

10:32am November 03, 2014

by Linda Poon

There were engineers. And virologists. And one wedding dress designer. Together, they're trying to devise a better design for protective gear worn by health workers in the Ebola ward.

Umu Fambulle stands over her husband, Ibrahim, who'd fallen and knocked himself unconscious in an Ebola ward in Monrovia, Liberia.

When A Loved One Has Ebola, How Can You Reach Out Without Touching?

7:03am November 02, 2014

by Diane Cole

A hug, a back rub, holding hands — all these shows of compassion are dangerous when the patient has Ebola. Is there any way to make up for the loss of the ability to touch?

A burial team carries the body of woman suspected to have died from the Ebola virus in Monrovia, Liberia. Most of the organized burial teams in the country are assisted by the aid group Global Communities, which, among other things, trains workers to prop

As Epidemic In Liberia Slows, Burying Bodies Remains A Challenge

6:24pm November 01, 2014

by NPR Staff

The aid group Global Communities, which has been organizing safe burial teams for the bodies of Ebola victims in Liberia, says it has seen the number of deaths flatten off.

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Decontee Davis, 23, initially thought she had malaria when she came down with a fever. It took her more than a week after she got sick to seek treatment for Ebola.

She Lost Her Fiance To Ebola But Found A New Mission

5:13pm November 01, 2014

by Rebecca Hersher

Decontee Davis survived Ebola, but her fiance died of the virus. Now she is working with children whose parents have had the disease — and spreading the word that early treatment is critical.

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'Ebola Is Real': Group Works Beyond Government In Sierra Leone

2:25pm November 01, 2014

NPR's Scott Simon talks to John Caulker, executive director of the non profit Fambul Tok. His group has been working outside the government to contain the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone.

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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power had her temperature taken as she arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power Sees Signs Of Hope In West Africa

7:41pm October 31, 2014

by NPR Staff

After a four-day visit to Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, she reports progress — along with the need for continued support.

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A nurse uses a diagram of the female reproductive system to explain the do-it-yourself careHPV test at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Kampala.

Why My Grandma Never Had A Pap Smear

12:56pm October 31, 2014

by Nsikan Akpan

Women in the developing world may never be tested for cervical cancer. Clinics are far away, cultural biases may keep them away. Now an inexpensive test lets them do it themselves.

A protester outside the White House demands a halt to all flights to the United States from West Africa.

Why It's OK To Worry About Ebola, And What's Truly Scary

10:19am October 31, 2014

by Nancy Shute

Public health officials are telling us not to freak out about Ebola in the United States. But fear is what motivates people to protect themselves from danger. When should we worry?