Kerry appoints former India ambassador Nancy Powell as Ebola Coordinator

Washington: US Secretary of State John Kerry has appointed Nancy Powell, the former US Ambassador to India, as Ebola Coordinator at the State Department. In this new role, announced yesterday, Powell will lead the State Department’s outreach to international partners, including foreign governments, to ensure a speedy and truly global response to this crisis.

Obama had last week declared the Ebola outbreak as a “global threat” which demands “a truly global response.”

Speaking on September 16 at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, he had outlined the US Government’s strategy to address the threat from the worsening Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

The four goals of that strategy are controlling the epidemic at its source in West Africa; mitigating second-order impacts, including blunting the economic, social and political tolls in the region; engaging and coordinating with a broader global audience; and fortifying global health security infrastructure in the region and beyond.

“Even as we lead, the President emphasized at the CDC the need for more nations to contribute the experienced personnel, supplies and funding,” the State Department Spokesperson, Jen Psaki, said.

“Powell, working with leaders from across our government, is leading our efforts to build the coalition required to bring this epidemic under control,” she said.

PTI