Africa

CONAKRY, GUINEA—Guinea’s Ministry of Justice said its investigation into the September killings of Ebola awareness health workers and a journalist in a southeastern village is moving swiftly, with a trial expected by year's end.

The murders of the eight people in the village of Wome sent shock waves of concern through Guinea and the international community that the already-difficult fight against Ebola was going to be that much harder.

A billboard with a message about Ebola appears on a street in Conakry, Guinea, Oct. 26, 2014.

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING: Medical organizations report difficulties in recruiting workers; Republicans continue criticize Administration's opposition to quarantines.

CLICK HERE - Committee on Foreign Affairs - Subcommittee Hearing: Fighting Ebola: A Ground-Level View

(Two stories, scroll down)

THE HILL                                                      Nov. 18, 2014

By Sarah Ferris - 11/18/14 12:53 PM EST

WASHINGTON --The pipeline of Ebola doctors and nurses in West Africa is still running dry even as money increasingly flows into the region, leaders of the nongovernmental effort warned Tuesday.

“We face a severe shortage of adequately trained health professionals, both national and international,” Rabih Torbay, a vice president of the nonprofit International Medical Corps, told a congressional panel.

International Medical Corps has about 900 workers in Liberia and Sierra Leone, about 90 percent of whom are African nationals. But Torbay said it has been extremely difficult to recruit volunteers to help stem the outbreak.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS                                       Nov. 18, 2014
By Darlene Superville

WASHINGTON--President Barack Obama said Tuesday that West Africa is "nowhere near out of the woods" in its fight against Ebola despite some improvement in the three countries hardest hit by the virus.

Obama said the disease remains a threat to the world, including the U.S., and he urged Congress to quickly approve his request for billions of dollars in emergency spending to combat the spread of Ebola at home and abroad.

CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY: Nebraska University cites treatment costs

NBC NEWS                                                                                               Nov. 18, 2014

It cost more than $1 million to treat two patients sent to the University of Nebraska’s Medical Center, the hospital’s chancellor said Tuesday. And it’s still not clear who will pay the bill and how.

It is  the first on-the-record estimate of what it’s cost to treat Ebola patients in the United States. So far, 10 people have been treated on U.S. soil — most recently, Sierra Leonean Dr. Martin Salia, who died Monday in Nebraska.