Ebola: A Collection of Multimedia Teaching Resources

Since the Ebola outbreak claimed its first victim more than nine months ago, an estimated 5,000 people in five West African nations have been infected, and nearly half of them have died. It's the worst Ebola outbreak on record; it's been wreaking havoc for months, but until recently, has been largely overlooked by the international community.

That changed in early August, when the first American to contract the virus was brought back to the United States for treatment. And this week, President Obama announced plans to provide support. The World Health Organization recently estimated that, at the current rate of infection, the number of cases would double every three weeks, and that nearly $1 billion in medical aid would be required to stem the crisis. Select from the tabs below to view a collection of multimedia resources from around the web that explore the issue from a range of angles.

U.S. response

About the outbreak

View this Associated Press interactive in fullscreen mode here.

Why it spread so fast

Inside the Hot Zone

How the virus works

Epidemics compared

The infographic below was produced by Good Magazine and Column Five Media. View original version here.

This inforgraphic was produced by Al Jazeera. View original fullscreen version here.

Finding the cure

Why no vaccine yet?

An interesting New Yorker article on "Ebolanomics" and the inequities of the global health system:

When pharmaceutical companies are deciding where to direct their R. & D. money, they naturally assess the potential market for a drug candidate. That means that they have an incentive to target diseases that affect wealthier people (above all, people in the developed world), who can afford to pay a lot. They have an incentive to make drugs that many people will take. And they have an incentive to make drugs that people will take regularly for a long time—drugs like statins.

This system does a reasonable job of getting Westerners the drugs they want (albeit often at high prices). But it also leads to enormous underinvestment in certain kinds of diseases and certain categories of drugs. Diseases that mostly affect poor people in poor countries aren’t a research priority, because it’s unlikely that those markets will ever provide a decent return.

How you can help

A recent Vox piece emphasizes the importance of wise charitable giving and provides some good tips on identifyng the most effective organizations and causes (not just the ones that are most popular). According to one charitable giving expert interviewed, "donating money to the best developing world health charities will reach at least 100 times as many people than if you donate to developed world health causes."

The US Agency for International Development provides a good list of 37 non-governmental organizations involved in the Ebola crisis, including links to donate. In a recently released statement, the agency emphasizes that monetary donations to these organizations are the most effective way for Americans to help:

The organizations below are involved in response work in areas affected by the Ebola virus, which has impacted thousands of people in West Africa. As relief and recovery efforts evolve, these organizations tailor their work to meet the changing needs of people and communities. Monetary donations enable responding organizations to react with speed and specificity in critical sectors now and as communities recover. Even a small donation can have great impact. Monetary donations save lives and money.

List of Non-Governmental Organizations
	Act!onAid Act!onAid Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Adventist Development and Relief Agency ADRA Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: View Donate Online: Here
	Adventist Health International AHI Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: 11060 Anderson St., Loma Linda, CA 92350 Donate Online: Here
	Africare Africare Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	AmeriCares AmeriCares Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	American Jewish World Service (AJWS) AJWS Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: 45 West 36th St., 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 Donate Online: Here
	American Red Cross Red Cross Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Amref Health Africa Amref Health Africa Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Baptist World Alliance Baptist World Alliance Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: 405 North Washington St., Falls Church, VA 22046 Donate Online: Here
	Brac Brac Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: 110 William St., 29th Floor, New York, NY 10038 Donate Online: Here
	Brother’s Brother Foundation Brother’s Brother Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: 1200 Galveston Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Donate Online: Here
	Catholic Relief Services (CRS) CRS Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: PO Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21297 Donate Online: Here
	CBM (Christian Blind Mission) CBM Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Concern Worldwide Concern Worldwide Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	CDC Foundation CDC Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: View Donate Online: Here
	Develop Africa Develop Africa Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: Donate Online: Here
	DirectRelief DirectRelief Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Episcopal Relief and Development Episcopal Relief Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: PO Box 7058, Merrifield, VA 22116 Donate Online: Here
	Friends of UNFPA (United Nations Populations Fund) UNFPA Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: Visit Here Donate Online: Here
	Gbowee Peace Foundation USA Gbowee Peace Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: Donate Online: Here
	Giving Children Hope Giving Children Hope Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Global Health Ministries Global Health Ministries Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Global Communities Global Communities Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: 8601 Georgia Ave., Suite 800, Silver Spring, MD 20910 Donate Online: Here
	Global Giving Global Giving Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	IMA World Health IMA Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: Donate Online: Here
	International Medical Corps IMC Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	International Rescue Committee DirectRelief Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Jhpiego Jhpiego Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	MAP International MAP Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	MSH (Management Sciences for Health) MSH Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Med Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders Med Sans Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: View Donate Online: Here
	Medical Teams International Medical Teams International Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: Visit Here Donate Online: Here
	MedShare MedShare Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	NetHope NetHope Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Operation USA Operation USA Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Partners in Health Partners in Health Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	PCI Global PCI Global Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Plan Plan Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Presbyterian Mission Agency PMA Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: PO Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700 Donate Online: Here
	Project C.U.R.E. Project C.U.R.E. Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Samaritan’s Purse Samaritan’s Purse Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Salesian Missions Salesian Missions Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Save The Children Save The Children Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: 501 Kings Highway, suite 400 Fairfield, CT 06825 Donate Online: Here
	SIM USA SIM USA Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: SIM – Ebola Crisis, PO Box 7900, Charlotte, NC 28241 Donate Online: Here
	Stop Hunger Now Stop hunger Now Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	UC San Francisco UC San Francisco Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) UMCOR Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068 Donate Online: Here
	Unicef Unicef Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	Women’s Campaign International WCI Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	World Food Programme USA (WFP) World Food Programme Ebola Info Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here
	World Renew World Renew Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: 1700 28th St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49508 Donate Online: Here
	World Vision World Vision Ebola Website Email Contact Donate by Mail: N/A Donate Online: Here