$128 Million. HUD Disaster Recovery Funding For Chicago Area

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 14, 2014 Quinn, Durbin, Emanuel Announce More than $128 Million in HUD Disaster Recovery Funding For Chicago Area WASHINGTON, D.C. – Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUD) has awarded a total of $128,300,000 in funding through the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program to communities in the Chicago area for recovery efforts following severe storms and flooding that began on April 18, 2013. This funding was made available through the fiscal year 2013 Sandy Supplemental Appropriations Bill, passed by Congress last year. “Families throughout Illinois who were inundated by last year’s record floods are still rebuilding and recovering,” said Quinn. “This critical funding will help hundreds of families throughout the Chicago area get back on their feet. I thank President Obama, Senator Durbin and all of the Illinois federal representatives who worked to line up this vital assistance to families who need it.” “Last April’s severe storms caused some of the worst flooding that I have ever seen in the Chicago area and surrounding counties, and forced hundreds of families to leave their homes,” said Durbin. “In the year since those storms hit, communities throughout the Chicago area have worked hard to recover. This funding will help in those efforts, and is especially critical for those families that lost their homes and are working hard to rebuild their lives.” “The significant flooding that hit our area last Spring caused extensive disruption and damage to homes and residential areas,” said Emanuel. “This much needed funding will help Chicagoans repair what has been damaged so they can rebuild and move on with their lives.” Under this announcement, the following communities will receive funding: Cook County, Illinois: $54.9 million dollars; City of Chicago, Illinois: $47.7 million dollars; DuPage County, Illinois: $18.9 million dollars; and State of Illinois: $6.8 million dollars. HUD's CDBG-Disaster Recovery grant program benefits communities that have experienced a natural disaster. The program is intended to address housing, business and infrastructure needs that have not been met by other forms of public and private assistance, including disaster recovery funding provided through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA). For more information on the program, please visit: CDBG Disaster Recovery Assistance.

Rice Award. Deadline: March 31, 2014

Deadline approaching: Rice Award

 

The Andrew E. Rice Award for Leadership and Innovation by a Young Professional in International Development recognizes the achievements of an exceptional young professional working in the field of international development.   The recipient of this award will demonstrate leadership and innovation, as well as tremendous promise for advancement in the field of international development. The selected winner will also recognize the importance of international development as a means of service to those who are most in need and will work toward sustainable, people-centered development. The Rice Award will be presented to the awardee at the Society for International Development Washington, D.C., chapter’s annual conference on May 20, 2014, in Washington, D.C. The award consists of an inscribed plaque recognizing the awardee, a prize in the amount of $1,000, a one-year, honorary membership to SID-Washington and the opportunity to present their work at an upcoming SID-Washington event. Application and all supporting materials must be received by Monday, March 31. For more information on the application process, please click here. If you have further questions, please contact Elizabeth Healy at 202-331-1317 orriceaward@sidw.org.

Situational Awareness: Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever in Guinea. March 2014

Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever in Guinea

(Situation as of 25 March 2014)

 

25 March 2014 - The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Guinea has notified WHO of a rapidly evolving outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in forested areas south eastern Guinea. The cases have been reported in Guekedou, Macenta, and Kissidougou districts. As of 25 March 2014, a total of 86 suspected cases including 60 deaths (case fatality ratio: 69.7%) had been reported. Four health care workers are among the victims. Reports of suspected cases in border areas of Liberia and Sierra Leone are being investigated.

Thirteen of the cases have tested positive for Ebola virus by PCR (six at the Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie (CIRI) in Lyon, France, and seven at the Institut Pasteur Dakar, Senegal), confirming the first Ebola haemorrhagic fever outbreak in Guinea. Results from sequencing done by CIRI Lyon showed strongest homology of 98% with Zaire Ebolavirus last reported in 2009 in Kasai-Occidental Province of DR Congo. This Ebolavirus species has been associated with high mortality rates during previous outbreaks.

The MOH together with WHO and other partners are implementing measures to control the outbreak and prevent further spread. The MoH has activated the national, provincial and district emergency management committees to coordinate response. The MoH has also advised the public to take measures to avert the spread of the disease and to report any suspected cases.

Multidisciplinary teams have been deployed to the field to strengthen surveillance, sensitize and educate the public, manage case and implement appropriate infection prevention and control measures in health facilities and communities affected. The MOH and MSF have established isolation facilities in Guéckédou district, and plans are underway to establish an additional isolation ward in Macenta district.

The Emerging and Dangerous Pathogens Laboratory Network (EDPLN) is working with the Guinean VHF Laboratory in Donka, the Institut Pasteur in Lyon, the Institut Pasteur in Dakar, and the Kenema Lassa fever laboratory in Sierra Leone to make available appropriate Filovirus diagnostic capacity in Guinea and Sierra Leone. Additional laboratory capacity is being established with the deployment of mobile laboratories supported by international partners.

WHO and other partners are deploying additional experts to provide support to the Ministry. The necessary supplies and logistics required for supportive management of patients and all aspects of outbreak control are also being mobilized. The MOH is also preparing a request to the African Public Health Emergency Fund (APHEF) as well as to other potential donors to support outbreak response. APHEF supports timely deployment of rapid response teams during outbreaks and emergencies, and procurement and prepositioning of epidemic and emergency response supplies.

WHO does not recommend that any travel or trade restrictions be applied to Guinea in respect to this event.




Dashboard: Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever in Guinea ( Situation as of 25 March 2014) (546.67 kB)