Obama Announces Expanded U.S. Response To Ebola, Urges World Leaders To Act

News outlets report on President Barack Obama’s announcement of an increased U.S. response to Ebola, during which he stated the outbreak poses a global security threat and urged world leaders to respond more rapidly.

BBC News: Obama says Ebola outbreak a ‘global security threat’
“President Barack Obama has called the Ebola outbreak in West Africa ‘a threat to global security,’ as he announced a larger U.S. role in fighting the virus…” (9/17).

CNN: Obama: U.S. ready to take the lead in Ebola fight
“After an in-person briefing from the staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced a ‘major increase’ in the U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa…” (Christensen/Liptak, 9/16).

The Hill: Obama at CDC warns Ebola outbreak ‘spiraling out of control’
“President Obama on Tuesday warned that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is ‘spiraling out of control’ and could see ‘hundreds of thousands of people infected’ if the world does not act…” (Sink, 9/16).

New York Times: Obama Presses Leaders to Speed Ebola Response
“President Obama on Tuesday challenged world powers to accelerate the global response to the Ebola outbreak that is ravaging West Africa, warning that unless health care workers, medical equipment, and treatment centers were swiftly deployed, the disease could take hundreds of thousands of lives…” (Cooper/Fink, 9/16).

Politico: Obama: Ebola outbreak demands global response
“President Barack Obama labeled the Ebola outbreak a ‘potential threat to global security’ on Tuesday and called on Congress to immediately appropriate $88 million in funds the administration has requested as part of an international response to the outbreak ravaging West Africa…” (Wheaton/Wright, 9/16).

Reuters: Citing security threat, Obama expands U.S. role fighting Ebola
“…The U.S. plan, a dramatic expansion of Washington’s initial response last week, won praise from the U.N. World Health Organization, aid workers, and officials in West Africa. Experts said it was still not enough to contain the epidemic, which is rapidly spreading and has caused already-weak local public health systems to buckle under the strain of fighting it…” (Mason/Giahyue, 9/16).

ScienceInsider: U.S. declares war on Ebola epidemic
“…The centerpiece of what Obama called ‘a major increase in our response’ indeed is the U.S. military, which in cooperation with the Liberian government will set up a command center in Monrovia led by U.S. Army Major General Darryl Williams. As Obama explained, the military will set up a command and control, logistics, and engineering to support civilian organizations working in the region…” (Cohen/Servick, 9/16).

Washington Post: Obama says world has responsibility to act; Ebola to “get worse before it gets better”
“President Obama said Tuesday that ‘the world has a responsibility to act’ to save the lives of West Africans threatened by a growing Ebola epidemic, and that the United States will devote significant new resources to curbing the spread of the disease…” (Eilperin/Sun, 9/16).

Washington Post: U.S. may spend up to $1 billion fighting Ebola, administration says
“The Obama administration notified lawmakers Tuesday night that the Pentagon would reprogram $500 million in unobligated funds to support an expanded effort to contain the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, according to administration officials. Taken on top of last week’s Defense Department move to redirect $500 million to Iraq and the Ebola epidemic, the Pentagon may spend up to $1 billion on combating the deadly disease…” (Eilperin, 9/16).

WHO: WHO welcomes the extensive Ebola support from the United States of America
“WHO welcomes the contribution from the Government of the United States of America to significantly build upon their previous Ebola response in West Africa. The new commitment provides support to the United Nations and to other international partners to help the Governments of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Senegal in their work to contain this outbreak…” (9/16).

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