The Bob Graham Center for Public Service provides a wide variety of programs for students and the larger public on topics related to public service, public leadership and civic engagement.
- This event has passed.
West African Ebola Epidemic – Panel Discussion
October 8, 2014
The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa is breaking records as the largest epidemic of Ebolavirus in history.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the reports of more than 3,000 Ebola-related deaths may be underestimated. The first case to be diagnosed in the United States was recently reported on Sept. 24.
Ebola virus was first identified in 1976, but previous outbreaks have occurred in fairly remote areas with low populations. The current outbreak is on a far larger scale than any previous incident.
The interest in the Ebola virus is high. A group of University of Florida scholars presented a panel discussion on the disease and its sociocultural effects on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
The event, “The West African Ebola Epidemic: A UF Faculty Discussion & Research Poster Session,” and the presenters are:
- Paul Psychas, M.D. Community Health and Family Medicine & Emerging Pathogens Institute, UF, “Ebola 101”
- Sharon Abramowitz, Assistant Professor of Anthropology & Center for African Studies, UF, “The Sociocultural and Institutional Context for the Ebola Outbreak”
- Dr. Timothy Nevin, Visiting Professor, Department of History & Center for African Studies, UF, “Life in Liberia in the Time of Ebola”
- Jill Sonke, Director, Center for Arts in Medicine, College of the Arts, UF, “Experiences from Uganda: Ebola, the Arts, and Public Health Campaigns”
The panel moderator was Leonardo Villalon, Dean of the UF International Center and Professor of Political Science, UF. Closing remarks were made by Abe Goldman, Director of the Center for African Studies and Associate Professor of Geography at UF.
The event was be followed by a research poster session presented by undergraduate students in the UF Ebola Research Group.
The event was sponsored by the Health in Africa Working Group at UF’s Center for African Studies and the UF International Center’s Global Health Council, and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service.