Global Health

Guest: Michael Gerson, the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI). Gerson serves as senior adviser at One, a bipartisan organization dedicated to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable diseases Disaster relief groups working in Nepal say funding and supplies are needed to prevent an outbreak of cholera or dysentery in the earthquake-stricken nation. While disease outbreaks are always a risk when housing, sanitation and water supplies are disrupted, the word "outbreak" feels a little more ominous thanks to Ebola. The largest outbreak of Ebola in history gripped West Africa for much of last year, killing more than 10,000 people. In the next few days, one of the hardest-hit countries -- Liberia -- will be officially Ebola-free, though Guinea and Sierra Leone are not. During a recent visit to BYU as a guest of the Kennedy Center, global-health expert Michael Gerson called the Ebola outbreak a "wake up call" for the international community.