Category: Outside Announcements
Doctors Without Borders webcast: Crisis Update in Yemen; Thursday, May 28th
Crisis Update: Yemen
Thursday, May 28, 1:00 PM EDT
PLEASE REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE TO RECEIVE THE LINK TO VIEW THE WEBCAST: https://crisis-update-yemen.eventbrite.com
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen grows more catastrophic each day. Fighting and indiscriminate airstrikes have harmed civilians, medical facilities, and critical infrastructure, disabling the only international airport in the country. These attacks, along with an unwavering blockade, have crippled Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières’s (MSF’s) ability to access people who are in dire need of care, as it is nearly impossible to get supplies and aid workers into the country. Fuel is all but unavailable, making it increasingly difficult for Yemenis to seek medical care, or even access clean drinking water. Since fighting broke out, more than 1,500 people have been killed, and MSF has treated more than 1,600 wounded by the fighting and bombings.
Panelists:
Robert Blecher, deputy program director, Middle East and North Africa, for International Crisis Group.
Philippe Bolopion, United Nations and crisis advocacy director for Human Rights Watch.
Pablo Marco, Middle East operations manager for MSF, and recently returned from Sana’a.
Phil Zabriskie, editorial director for MSF-USA, will moderate the discussion.
If you are unable to view the live broadcast of this webcast, the recording will be posted to the Livestream page.
Live Webinar hosted by Doctors Without Borders; May 14th
Ebola in West Africa: Looking Back, Moving Forward
Thursday, May 14, 8:00PM EDT
Doctors Without Borders aid workers reflect on their recent work in West Africa, current challenges, and what remains to be done.
Register now: http://ebola-update-webcast.eventbrite.com
Now over a year into the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) remains active in all three affected countries. Although the number of positive cases has decreased in Liberia and Sierra Leone, it continues to fluctuate in Guinea, with each new case carrying the potential to reignite the outbreak.
Much work remains to be done, and vigilance remains essential. The outbreak ravaged existing health systems throughout the affected region, forcing many medical facilities to close and killing hundreds of health personnel. This undercut the ability of health workers to treat preventable diseases or vaccinate children. The crisis made it very difficult for people to access assistance for non-Ebola illnesses or maternal care. Even if the worst of the outbreak is over, as we hope it is, the consequences of the epidemic will be with us for a long time to come.
On Thursday, May 14th, 8:00PM EDT, our outstanding panel of recently returned aid workers will explore the reality in the field at this stage of the outbreak. The panel will also discuss what lessons MSF has learned about responding to situations like this, and where we go from here.
Viewer participation is encouraged via a chat feature available during the webcast.
Panelists:
Sophie Delaunay is the executive director of MSF-USA and recently visited West Africa.
Craig Spencer, MD, worked as a physician in an Ebola treatment center in Guinea in the fall of 2014. After developing symptoms back home in New York, he was himself diagnosed with Ebola. While undergoing intense media scrutiny, he was treated and was declared Ebola-free on November 10. And in March 2015, he went back to Guinea to continue fighting Ebola as an epidemiologist.
Ella Watson-Stryker began working for MSF in March 2014 as part of MSF’s initial response to the Ebola outbreak in Guinea. She returned for subsequent missions as a health promotion manager in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and was recently featured in Time magazine with other health care providers and aid workers in West Africa who were collectively named Person of the Year for 2014.
Gillian Burkhardt, OBGYN, recently returned from Sierra Leone, where she worked in an Ebola treatment center that was transitioning into a maternal care center. Her first assignment for MSF was at the beginning of 2014 in Sierra Leone prior to the Ebola outbreak.
Tim Shenk, MSF-USA press officer, spent two weeks as the lead field communications officer in Liberia in 2014, and will moderate the discussion.
Please register on Eventbrite to receive the link to view: http://ebola-update-webcast.eventbrite.com
Claire M. Wagner is Senior Consultant at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Center for Global Cancer Medicine and a US National Cancer Institute funded Fellow at the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) in Geneva. She supports Dana-Farber’s partnership with the Ministry of Health of Rwanda, and serves as Secretariat for the 2014 UICC Review of the World Health Organization’s Essential Medicines for Cancer. From 2010-2013 she worked in Rwanda for the Honorable Minister of Health Dr. Agnes Binagwaho and Harvard University Professor Dr. Paul Farmer. Her background is in Medical Anthropology and she will begin medical school in August.
Spotlight on Mental Health: BUSPH launches “Self-Care Project”
This morning, SPH Today announced the start of the “Self-Care Project.” This week-long campaign, run by Spotlight on Mental Health, seeks to highlight the fact that BUSPH cares about the mental wellness of its students and employees – important to keep in mind at the end of the semester! Click the link to see the list of self-care events we’ll be hosting throughout the week.
Self-Care Project: The Spotlight is on You!
Friday, April 17 – Friday, April 24
We’re asking students (and everyone!) to post about their self-care practices using the hashtag #BUSPHSelfCare. Tell us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram how you prioritize personal wellness – whether that’s going for a run, journaling, or taking the time to chat with a friend. Everyone can follow the campaign @BUSPH. Students who post using the hashtag will be entered in a raffle to win a FitBit – winner announced Mon., April 27.
How can you help?
- Join the kick-off Facebook Q&A! Tomorrow, April 17, Dr. Carol Dolan will be joining us on the BUSPH Facebook page to chat about stress and how it affects students and those in the workplace. Write in using your own FB accounts with any questions you may have about stress reduction, or simply to offer encouragement. Students from the Spotlight Student Committee will be participating as well, and we hope to get a lively conversation going to illustrate that BUSPH supports the need for self-care.
- When: Friday, April 17, 2 – 3 PM
- How: Follow the BUSPH Facebook page, and post your questions/comments on the thread where Dr. Dolan will be answering questions.
- If you are active on social media, participate! Share what self-care looks like in your life. Students need to know that the faculty and staff they work with every day are in this with them – self-care is a need for everyone.
- When: Friday, April 17 – Friday, April 24
- How: Follow the campaign on Twitter @BUSPH. Use the hashtag #BUSPHSelfCare on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Students who participate will be entered in a raffle to win a FitBit!
- Come to the other events! The link above has information on two other events the Self-Care Project is hosting next week. Dr. Michael Grodin will lead a guided meditation next Wednesday (with lunch included), and on Friday we will wrap things up with MORE DOGS. Register here to reserve your (adult) puppy timeslot!
Join The Spotlight on Mental Health in promoting self-care and mental wellness! Starting Friday April 17th, use the hashtag #BUSPHSelfCare on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to show us how you are engaging in self-care as the semester is wrapping up.
Learn more about what the Spotlight on Mental Health committee is doing to promote self-care and mental wellness here!
Earth Day Festival at BUMC is happening on Thursday, April 16 from 11a-2:30p on Talbot Green
Save the Date:
Earth Day Festival at BUMC is happening on Thursday, April 16 from 11a-2:30p on Talbot Green.
Come get a free sustainability@BU travel mug and visit the City Hall Van to go for many civic services including paying your parking ticket, get a dog license, paying your property tax, get something notarized, register to vote, get recycling bin stickers, sign up for Renew Boston, and much more.
Be sure to bring us your...
Old work clothes: Join BU in Goodwill's Put Your Clothes to Work drive
Hard to recycle items: Batteries, ink & toner cartridges, styrofoam
We'll also feature partner vendors from Save That Stuff, ZipCar, Office Depot, and Urban AdvenTours. The BMC Marathon Team will feature free food and giveaways.
Calestous Juma from the Harvard Kennedy School will deliver the annual Pardee Distinguished Lecture next Tuesday, April 14
Calestous Juma from the Harvard Kennedy School will deliver the annual Pardee Distinguished Lecture next Tuesday, April 14. Calestous will be available from 1 to 4 pm that day for BU faculty or grad students who are interested in meeting with him one-on-one (or in small groups, possibly) here at the Pardee Center. We will fill in the schedule below as responses come in.
Please contact me (barakatt@bu.edu), if you would like to meet with Calestous at any of the following times:
Tuesday, April 14 -- meeting with Calestous Juma at Pardee House, 67 Bay State Road
The Fenway Institute is Recruiting Participants for a New Study Around the Use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis within the Context of a Relationship
The Fenway Institute is recruiting participants for a new study around the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) within the context of a relationship. Known as the Couples PrEP study, this study is setting out to interview male-male couples about their relationships in order to better our understanding of how relationship dynamics play a role in HIV prevention. Read more: http://fenwayfocus.org/2015/04/fenway-institute-recruiting-for-couples-prep-study/
