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The ONE Campaign on Wednesday launched a multimedia effort featuring more than a dozen celebrities demanding timely action from world leaders to help fight the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
“The initial response to the Ebola outbreak was too slow and too uncoordinated,” said ONE president and CEO Michael Elliot. “Some countries have now stepped up to lead in a big way — with traditional donors like the U.S., U.K., France and Germany all making meaningful contributions — but this is a global crisis and it demands a global response. While our first priority needs to be containing this outbreak, it is equally important that the world take steps now to invest in strengthening health systems so that future tragedies of this kind will be stopped in their tracks.”
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The group is debuting an interactive “Ebola Response Tracker” that shows which counties are honoring their pledges to combat deadly epidemic. ONE is also releasing a video that features Bono, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, Connie Britton, Akon, Will Ferrell, Ellie Goulding, Danai Gurira, Thandie Newton and Vincent Cassel, along with African musicians Fally Ipupa, Angélique Kidjo, Femi Kuti and Ice Prince.
The video, which is completely silent, is meant to emphasize how the world has waited too long to stop the spread of Ebola in West Africa. The piece ends with a call to action for people to sign ONE’S petition demanding leaders around the world to act.
“We need our friends around the world to come forward with all the help they can right now, so patients can be treated in a dignified way, and we can end this nightmare,” said Grammy Award-winning musician Kidjo. “Then we need to work together to rebuild and strengthen West Africa’s heath care systems to stop another crisis like this from happening again.”
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