HOPE In The News

2021

June

      • Yemen crisis is worsening and the world must act now, say aid workers
        June 11, 2021 – TRT World
        “People in Yemen feel that they have been forgotten by the world while they are suffering,” said Rabih Torbay, the CEO of Project Hope, an international healthcare NGO. A six-year long civil conflict has displaced 4 million people, devastated the economy and destroyed half the hospitals in what was already the poorest Arab state. “We cannot do that. We cannot forget the people of Yemen and we cannot forget the health workers. We need to keep this crisis on the radar screen until the solution is found,” Torbay told TRT World…Torbay said that the Covid-19 pandemic has killed at least 150 doctors in Yemen but exact figures are hard to get by due to lack of data. “This is a country which has around 10 healthcare workers for 10,000 people. That’s not 10 doctors but 10 healthcare workers (including nurses). Imagine the impact of the doctors dying on patients who go untreated.”
      • Biden Is Reasserting the U.S.’ Role in Vaccine Distribution. Is It Enough?
        June 10, 2021 – TIME
        The move marks a clean break from Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, who regularly lambasted these types of international institutions. “It shows we’re taking a leadership role and that’s been badly missing,” says Chris Skopec, executive Vice President at Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian relief organization. “We are one of the largest manufacturing countries in the world when it comes to vaccines. We have the most resources to help produce this.” … After hearing about the Pfizer deal, Skopec was optimistic, and adamant that more could be done. “Showing that level of leadership is a great start, but thats all it is—a start,” says Skopec. “Five hundred million vaccines is not enough. It needs to be a pipeline, it needs to be something we keep committing to.”
      • How New White House Plan To Address Supply Chain Crisis Will Impact Companies
        June 8, 2021 – Forbes
        Jason Obten is the global logistics director at Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian organization that has distributed over 17 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) around the globe since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. He noted that, “The importance of on-shoring pharmaceutical production, including Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), to ensure the stability of the supply chain is crucial for preparedness” before a crisis. “At the beginning of the pandemic, many countries sought protection by nationalizing personal protective equipment (PPE) stock. Those actions, while understandable, exposed the national security threat posed to public health systems around the world by globalization of supply chains over the last 20 years and reliance on just-in-time production,” he said. “We not only need to onshore production, but also the means of producing underlying materials. Production capacity is useless without raw materials to sustain it. [If] we are to protect public health systems around the world, we need not only to build it into our national systems, but to assist other nations in building internal stability and resilience as well,” Obten cautioned.
      • The Start of Hurricane Season Brings Anxieties to Central America, Still Reeling From Last Year’s Disasters
        June 3, 2021 – TIME
        At Project HOPE, relief organizers say that a warming climate is having a substantial effect on their work, with the organization expanding its emergency response teams and recruiting more volunteers in order to deploy to multiple disasters at a time. “Both the scale and the frequency of the disasters that we’re responding to are like nothing we’ve seen in our past,” says Project HOPE Americas Regional Director Andrea Dunne-Sosa. “It’s not only anticipated. It’s been happening.”
      • Many countries are getting left behind in the vaccine race, and that’s taking a toll on healthcare employees that could lead to an 18 million worker shortage by 2030
        June 1, 2021 – Business Insider
        Dr. Tom Kenyon, a former director of the Center for Global Health, and current Chief Health Officer for Project HOPE told Insider that healthcare workers across the world are struggling with their mental health amidst the pandemic, whether it be new anxiety or depression or simply worsening conditions as they continue to treat patients. Project HOPE launched Mental Health & Resiliency Trainings for health care workers, in Indonesia, the Dominican Republic, and the Philippines last summer to help those on the frontlines of the pandemic navigate the pressures that could lead to negative mental health outcomes.
      • The mental health of health workers in the pandemic
        June 1, 2021         – World Health Organization
        The value of peer-to-peer exchange is also being demonstrated by the humanitarian aid organization Project HOPE, which is providing mental health support for health-care workers involved in the COVID-19 response in the Dominican Republic, Indonesia and the Philippines. According to Rawan Hamadeh, Project HOPE’s associate project coordinator for mental health programmes, the initiative uses both online and in-person sessions. The first session was held in September 2020 in Indonesia and 130 doctors, nurses and psychologists were brought together. “They openly discussed topics that are often silenced in the workplace, including exhaustion, depression, and compassion fatigue,” says Hamadeh, who says, “Fear of stigma is the number one obstacle to health-care workers speaking openly”.
      • Experts: COVID Variants Are Not Causing More Infections In Vaccinated People
        June 1, 2021         – Verywell Health
        Vaccine Equity: Much to that end, global vaccine access is also about equity. In a press statement, Tom Kenyon, MD, MPH, chief health officer at Project HOPE and former director of global health at the CDC, said “one of the greatest health inequities of all time is currently underway due to the shortages in COVID-19 vaccine supply, vaccine hoarding by wealthier nations, and their failure to use the WHO’s COVAX facility for more equitable vaccine distribution.” Kenyon added that “we must prioritize access and increasing supply to achieve global vaccine equity as soon as possible—so those who want the lifesaving benefits of vaccines get the protection they rightfully deserve.”

    May

          • To protect Americans and help the world, US needs to start giving more COVID-19 vaccine away more quickly, experts say
            May 21, 2021             – USA Today
            Three international gatherings in the next month could be turning points, said Dr. Tom Kenyon, director of the nonprofit international health care organization Project HOPE and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s former director of global health. This week is the G20 Global Health Summit. Next week is the World Health Assembly, and the second week of June is the G7 Leaders’ Summit. “U.S. involvement could be the tipping point,” Kenyon said. “We need something to rally around, because clearly, we’re failing to vaccinate the world.”
          • Hurricanes to Pound Atlantic in Active Season, U.S. Says
            May 20, 2021 – Bloomberg
            Many areas pummeled by storms last year are still recovering from the devastation. Louisiana, Honduras and Nicaragua each experienced back-to-back hurricane strikes in 2020, with hurricanes Iota and Eta leaving hundreds dead in the Central American countries. “It takes years for communities to recover from significant storms,” said Tom Cotter, director of emergency response and preparedness at Project HOPE, a Virginia-based health and humanitarian organization. “If there is aid coming, it’s concentrated on the initial impact but what we forget is there is continuing need for years and that is a tougher sell.”
          • How to help people around the world get vaccinated
            May 20, 2021 – Mashable
            While masks are coming off in the U.S., we’re nowhere near the end of the pandemic. To help us get there, donate your dollars and raise your voices in support of these initiatives. Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian relief organization, empowers and trains local healthcare workers to prevent disease and save lives. It’s been vocal about the need for vaccine equity and access through statements, has launched an online training in over 20 African countries to prepare local medical staff and frontline responders for the vaccine rollout, and is developing trainings on vaccine science, administration, and equitable access for frontline healthcare workers globally. You can donate to support Project HOPE’s general COVID relief work, including efforts to get everyone vaccinated.
          • ‘Shocking imbalance’ of COVID-19 vaccine distribution underscores inequity
            May 20, 2021 – Infectious Disease News
            The proliferation of variants is another reason to address global vaccine inequity, according to Tom Kenyon, MD, MPH, chief health officer at the international health care nonprofit Project HOPE and former director of the CDC’s Center for Global Health … Kenyon said the U.S. would be “very shortsighted” in thinking that vaccinating only Americans is going to be sufficient. “COVID-19 is a very dangerous disease spread through respiratory droplets and cannot be adequately controlled locally if it remains unchecked globally,” he said. “It’s dangerous for any country or community to behave as though it’s in the clear if the science, numbers and facts say the opposite. It is not only our human imperative to make vaccines accessible to all countries faster and in sufficient quantities, but it is also in our public health interest to further minimize the emergence of variants that could render vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics less effective.”
          • Here’s How Long It Will be Until We Reach Herd Immunity, According to Doctors 
            May 20, 2021 – Parade
            Vaccine hesitancy is part of the problem, and as we race to vaccinate people against new variants that are emerging, those who are unsure about the vaccine are making scientists worry about how realistic reaching herd immunity actually is. “We know from experience with other vaccination programs that reaching the first 50 percent of a population is the easier part,” Dr. Tom Kenyon, MD, the chief health officer at Project HOPE and former director of global health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tells Parade.com. “The second 50% gets tougher. Here, we face more pockets of hesitancy and difficult-to-reach vulnerable populations, and that’s where the major health inequities come into play.”
          • Africa needs vaccines and financial aid
            May 20, 2021 – Cornwall Standard-Freeholder
            According to Project HOPE, a humanitarian non-governmental organization that works in more than 25 countries to bolster local health systems, the COVID crisis in India will have a major impact on vaccination campaigns in Africa. “With disruption to the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccine doses by the Serum Institute of India, low- and middle-income countries expected to receive vaccine supplies through COVAX will face delays and shortage in the coming months, increasing the risk of new infection waves,” Rabih Torbay, Project HOPE president and CEO, is quoted as saying in a statement posted on the NGO’s website. “African countries, of which many are dependent on COVAX, are a major concern as new coronavirus variants have proliferated across southern and eastern Africa, exacerbating the challenge of bringing the pandemic under control. Africa is the world’s least-vaccinated continent.”
          • Why Some People Are Choosing Not to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine
            May 19, 2021             – Shape
            Continuing to having open and honest conversations with friends or family members who might feel iffy about getting the COVID-19 vaccine is one of the best ways to help encourage vaccination, according to the CDC. At the end of the day, however, those who are unvaccinated are likely to stay that way. “We know from experience with other vaccination programs that reaching the first 50 percent of a population is the easier part,” Tom Kenyon, M.D., chief health office at Project HOPE and former director of Global Health at the CDC, said in a recent statement. “The second 50 percent gets tougher.”
          • US Boosting Exports of Coronavirus Vaccines
            May 17, 2021             – VOA News
            “At the current rate, it is likely that only 10% of people in the majority of poor countries will be vaccinated in the next year,” according to Dr. Tom Kenyon. “Amidst vast supplies of COVID-19 vaccines held by wealthy nations, including the United States, it has become unethical to withhold vaccines any longer from high-risk groups, such as global health workers in marginalized communities and countries who put their lives on the line daily to care for the sick, and are themselves dying at alarming rates.” Kenyon, a former global health director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the United States “is very short-sighted if we think that vaccinating only Americans is going to be sufficient. COVID-19 is a very dangerous disease spread through respiratory droplets and cannot be controlled locally if it remains unchecked globally.”
          • Holiday House and Project HOPE Partner to Celebrate ‘And Then Came Hope’
            May 13, 2021             – Publishers Weekly
            Stephen Savage’s latest picture book, And Then Came Hope, represents a heartwarming meshing of past and present, of nonfiction and fiction. Released this month by Holiday House’s Neal Porter Books, it tells a story based on the SS HOPE, a 20th-century American hospital ship, and delivers a message of hope and healing that resonates deeply today. To elevate the topic of child health and wellness, the publisher is partnering with Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian organization dedicated to carrying on the legacy of the historic ship by providing health care, training, and resources in countries affected by marginalized health systems, health crises, conflicts, and natural disasters.
          • How You Encourage Others to Get Vaccinated Makes a Big Difference
            May 13, 2021             – Healthline
            Dr. Tom Kenyon, former director of the Center for Global Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and chief health officer at Project HOPE, said experts know from experience with other vaccination programs that reaching the first 50 percent of a population is the easier part. “The second 50 percent gets tougher,” Kenyon told Healthline. “Here, we face more pockets of hesitancy and difficult-to-reach vulnerable populations, and that’s where the major health inequities come into play. The most important public message is: Get vaccinated as soon as you have access.” Kenyon said getting vaccinated is a “tremendous service to yourself, your children, your co-workers, and your country.”
          • India’s COVID-19 Outbreak and Its Global Impact
            May 12, 2021             – theSkimm
            A big way to help countries (like India) that are still reeling from COVID-19 is by donating to organizations working on the frontlines. Here are some orgs to consider supporting…Project HOPE: The org has distributed over 14 million pieces of PPE, provided training for tens of thousands of health care workers and frontline personnel, and reached more than 150 countries during the pandemic. It’s also teaming up with local partners and gov officials in India to get and distribute PPE, oxygen, ICU equipment, ventilators, and other critical items.
          • An explainer on the COVID-19 situation in India and how you can help
            May 11, 2021             – Fashion Journal
            The best way you can help India is by donating. This allows for resources and aid to be allocated across the country. Below, we’ve listed a range of organisations that are working to improve the dire situation. Project HOPE: Supplying ICU equipment, ventilators, oxygen supplies and PPE, Project Hope is collaborating with government officials to ensure the most critical hospitals are allocated with resources.
          • 12 Ways To Help People Affected By The Pandemic Worldwide
            May 10, 2021             – Bustle
            Here’s a list of organizations that are currently accepting help during the pandemic, along with other ways you can make a difference: Project HOPE is delivering PPE to hospitals, training in-line health workers for the frontline and educating communities on how to stop the spread of the virus. Donate a one-time or monthly gift here.
          • The human-focused startups of the hellfire
            May 9, 2021             – TechCrunch
            Most fields have linear approaches to training. But how do you train someone to respond to emergencies? There’s a need to scale up best practices rapidly across the world. Tom Cotter, director of emergency response and preparedness at Project HOPE, a nonprofit that empowers local healthcare workers in disaster-stricken and impoverished areas, said that in the context of COVID-19, “a lot of what was going to be needed [early on] was training — there were huge information gaps at the clinical level, how to communicate it at a community level.” The organization developed a curriculum with Brown University’s Watson Institute in the form of interactive PowerPoints that were ultimately used to train 100,000 healthcare workers on the new virus, according to Cotter.
          • This Is How To Stay Safe When You Travel After The Pandemic
            May 8, 2021 – Forbes
            It may be impossible to stay completely safe when you travel this year. At least, that’s what experts say. “This pandemic is far from over,” warns Project HOPE’s Chief Health Officer Tom Kenyon. “To get back to normal, we still need to remain in a pandemic emergency mode, for the most part. It is more important now than ever to get vaccinated, wear masks when around the unvaccinated, socially distance ourselves from others, and practice good hygiene.”
          • The Weekly Covet: COVID Relief for India
            May 7, 2021             – Town & Country
            The brands to shop and organizations to donate to in an effort to provide relief to the ongoing COVID crisis in India: “Project HOPE is accepting donations to support their efforts in minimizing the spread of Covid in India. They are working tirelessly to make sure communities hit the hardest are provided with not only much needed medical supplies but also necessary education on what they can do to help stop the spread in their day-to-day.” -Dania Ortiz, Fashion and Accessories Director
          • An On-the-Ground View of India’s Pandemic Fight
            May 7, 2021             – U.S. News & World Report
            In early 2021, India seemed to have COVID-19 contained, with cases dropping markedly by late January. But by mid-March, the pandemic surged to crisis levels, with reports of daily new infections in India spiking past 400,000 by May 5. Alok Mohanty is coordinating the emergency response with Project HOPE on the ground in the state of Odisha.
          • How COVID-19 Vaccination Improved Nurses’ Workdays
            May 6, 2021             – U.S. News & World Report
            The Navajo Nation has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. On Jan. 8, Lisa Bartleson, a volunteer crisis nurse for Project HOPE, received her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine at Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock, New Mexico, where she spent six weeks this past winter. For Bartleson, receiving the vaccine hasn’t really changed how she does her job. “I still take the same precautions,” she says. “Partly in solidarity with those still vulnerable to the virus and partly because there is still a lot to learn about COVID-19.” In addition, she says, “I still wear a mask everywhere in public and continue to practice good hand hygiene. I also still avoid crowded areas.”
          • Take A Chance: Interview with Rabih Torbay, Presdient and CEO of Project HOPE
            May 6, 2021             – Adam Mendler Blog
            I recently went one on one with Rabih Torbay, President and CEO of Project HOPE. Rabih leads a global team of over 1,000 – implementing 64 active programs across over 25 countries – and has worked extensively responding to humanitarian crises including in Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, and the United States.
          • How to help India during its devastating COVID-19 crisis
            May 5, 2021             – CBS News
            Amid calls to aid the country, the world is stepping up. For those looking for a way to contribute directly to relief efforts, below is a list of some of the organizations seeking donations that are providing oxygen, food, medical supplies, PPE and other forms of support to India: Project HOPE is working with the Indian government to deliver medical supplies to the country’s hardest-hit areas, train frontline health workers and educate communities on COVID and how to stop the spread.
          • The COVID-19 crisis in India is getting worse. Here’s how you can help.
            May 5, 2021             – Boston.com
            If you’re looking for ways to help amid India’s COVID crisis, we’ve gathered a list of organizations named by local thought leaders, doctors, scholars, and our Boston.com community. Project HOPE: Project Hope works to provide resources to health care workers across the globe. Their work has distributed over 14 million pieces of PPE since the start of the pandemic and aided 150 countries. To procure aid to India during this time, the project is working with local governments in India to make sure they get the supplies needed with a call for donations.
          • How to help India during its COVID surge — 12 places you can donate
            May 4, 2021             – PBS News
            People around the world are rallying to get India the supplies and support it needs. Here’s how you can help: Organizations that fund and provide medical supplies like oxygen and PPE: Project HOPE is a global aid organization that is distributing medical supplies in India and educating communities on how to stop COVID-19 from spreading. You can donate here.
          • How you can help India during its horrific COVID-19 crisis
            May 3, 2021             – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
            India is facing the world’s worst COVID-19 outbreak right now, reporting 400,000 cases in just one day for the first time on Saturday. But the country needs more than just medical personnel. It needs supplies. Personal protective equipment, both suits and masks, are critical for front-line workers. You can donate to these organizations who are providing supplies: Project HOPE is providing ventilators and ICU equipment, in addition to PPE, to areas of greatest need.
          • Data was the new oil, until the oil caught fire
            May 2, 2021             – TechCrunch
            If only data for disasters could be processed so easily. Unfortunately, standardization is a challenge at all scales. Globally, countries mostly lack interoperability, although standards are improving over time. Tom Cotter, director of emergency response and preparedness at health care disaster response organization Project HOPE, said that even setting up communications between responders can be challenging in an international environment. “Some countries allow certain platforms but not others, and it is constantly changing,” he said. “I basically have every single technology communication platform you can possibly have in one place.”…AI today is helping a bit with resilience planning and disaster recovery and not so much during emergency response itself, but there is certainly more to come across the entire cycle. Cotter of Project HOPE similarly noted that faster data processing translates to better responses. “Ultimately speed is what saves lives in these disasters,” he said. We’re “also able to manage more responses remotely [and] don’t have to send as many people downrange,” giving response teams more leverage in resource-constrained environments.
          • What To Know About The Growing Debate Over COVID-19 Vaccine Patents And Equity
            May 2, 2021             – The Huffington Post
            Global vaccine equity affects everyone, even if you’ve already been vaccinated. “The only way to control this pandemic is vaccination. So until we have global coverage, we won’t have control,” said Dr. Thomas Kenyon, chief health officer for Project HOPE and former director of global health for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Essentially, the longer it takes for people around the world to get vaccinated, the longer the pandemic will disrupt lives and livelihoods. “The economic losses are staggering and the longer this continues the more those will occur,” Kenyon said, adding: “And it’s a real, real threat to sustainable development goals.” The big takeaway is that vaccine equity is both a short-term and a long-term problem. “I think in the long term, we’re going to see efforts by countries, by regions, to manufacture their own vaccine, because they see they can’t rely on the global market,” Kenyon said.
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    April

          • The coronavirus is ravaging India. Here’s how you can help
            April 30, 2021             – CNN
            The global community is rallying to help India push back against the pandemic, with countries around the world offering aid. You can help, too. Here’s how. To donate to any of the charities mentioned in this article, click the button below or here. Provide PPE: Project HOPE is working with government officials to deliver medical supplies, including PPE, ventilators and ICU equipment, to areas of greatest need.
          • 10 Places to Donate to Help India Amid the COVID Crisis
            April 30, 2021             – The Strategist
            India is facing a deadly second-wave coronavirus outbreak, with official infection rates topping 300,000 cases a day and epidemiologists saying the actual number is probably much higher. If you are looking to help, the most effective way is by donating money to organizations both international and on the ground in India. We’ve compiled a list of organizations where you can donate to help with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Project HOPE: This U.S.-based global health nonprofit is working with local partners to provide PPE and critically needed medical equipment to help front-line health-care workers fight the spread of COVID-19.
          • How To Help India Amid The Covid Crisis
            April 29, 2021             – The New York Times
            Charities, volunteers and businesses in India and beyond are trying to help the country’s COVID victims and frontline workers. Here are a few ways to help: Project HOPE, also in Maryland, is a nonprofit providing medical training, health education and humanitarian assistance around the world. The group says it has given COVID-related assistance in 150 countries during the pandemic, including India.
          • How to Help India During the COVID-19 Pandemic No Matter Where You Are in the World
            April 29, 2021             – Travel + Leisure
            As COVID-19 cases continue to soar in India, organizations all over the globe are mobilizing to help. Here’s how you can offer support. Project HOPE is also collecting donations to help it secure PPE and medicine in India.
          • COVID-19 cases surge globally
            April 29, 2021             – Devex
            “What’s underway in India is of tragic, nightmarish proportions. It’s the worst-case scenario that everyone imagined,” said Dr. Tom Kenyon, chief health officer at Project HOPE. On Sunday, India’s neighbor Nepal hit its highest daily figure of new cases this year. The country saw a biweekly increase in reported infections of 550%, IFRC said. “Nepal is highest on our list for being on the brink,” said Project HOPE’s Kenyon, adding that both India and Nepal recently had religious festivals, with people visiting the former for celebrations likely returning to the latter with the coronavirus. “Nepal has a much weaker health system than India. They have a major shortage of health care workers … and a much lower per capita expenditure on health care than India,” he said. “I am very concerned about Nepal.” “An escalation of cases can occur anywhere, and that’s why we have to be vigilant. Nobody predicted India would happen. … Nobody would have predicted this explosive catastrophe that they are now trying to deal with,” Kenyon said.
          • How to help support COVID-19 relief in India
            April 28, 2021             – Mashable
            A hard-hitting second wave of coronavirus has reached India, with the country reporting record pandemic numbers and 17.9 million total COVID cases. Just like last year, the crisis is galvanizing people online. Here are a few other organizations facilitating COVID-19 relief efforts on the ground: Project HOPE: Project HOPE is a nonprofit supporting healthcare workers and emergency medical responses around the world. It’s currently working with a network of civil society organizations across India to distribute additional oxygen tanks, ICU beds, PPE, and COVID decontamination units. The organization created an India-specific donation portal for those wanting to contribute to the team’s efforts.
          • Countdown to Herd Immunity: The Fight to Get People Vaccinated for COVID-19
            April 27, 2021             – Healthline
            Taking a cultural approach: Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian relief organization, partnered with Indian Health Services (IHS) to distribute vaccines to Navajo Nation. Vaccine sites were set up at hospitals and clinics along with community gathering spots like chapter houses. Harley Jones, senior manager of domestic emergency response with Project HOPE, said IHS took a cultural approach when messaging the benefits of vaccination, “positioning the fight against the pandemic and getting the vaccine as something that everyone should do to support their friends and neighbors.” The use of personal protective equipment, social distancing, and vaccinations were positioned in a way that gave everyone within the tribe a way to support the group, especially the elders, who faced higher risk for complications from COVID-19. In Navajo culture, elders are revered as the “history, health, and strength” of the tribe, said Jones. The tribe mobilized to protect the group as a whole.
          • States have plenty of vaccines but overcoming hesitancy is only one challenge
            April 26, 2021             – WJLA
            “The U.S. is very shortsighted if we think that vaccinating only Americans is going to be sufficient,” said Dr. Tom Kenyon, the chief health officer at Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian organization. “The global vaccine inequity needs to be addressed because it is the right thing to do from a humanitarian standpoint,” Kenyon continued, “but also to prevent the global proliferation of other variants that threaten the usefulness of current diagnostic tests, therapies and vaccines.”
          • Hope for COVID-19 Herd Immunity Is Fading. Here’s Why
            April 25, 2021             – Healthline
            Analyzing the numbers through a U.S. lens shows signs of clear progress. But global numbers are a different story. Dr. Tom Kenyon, the chief health officer at Project HOPE and a Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) trained epidemiologist who spent more than 2 decades at the CDC, told Healthline that vaccinations have been working. But he noted that we have a long way to go. “We should not let ourselves be misled by this early domestic progress when the majority of Americans remain unvaccinated — and when only 3 percent of the global population has been fully vaccinated,” he said. Kenyon noted that, at current vaccination rates, only 10 percent of people in the majority of developing countries will be vaccinated in the next year. “The global vaccine inequity needs to be addressed because it is the right thing to do from a humanitarian standpoint but also to prevent the global proliferation of other variants that threaten the usefulness of current diagnostic tests, therapies, and vaccines,” he said.
          • Millions of Americans are skipping their second dose of COVID vaccine
            April 25, 2021             – CBS Weekend News
            A CBS News poll finds just more than half of the people surveyed are hesitant to get a shot and feel more testing is needed. Meanwhile, the CDC says more than 5 million Americans have not received their second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Tom Kenyon, Project HOPE’s Chief Health Officer and former CDC Director of Global Health said, “The fact that 8% of Americans have missed their second shot is, of course, concerning, but it’s not unexpected.”
          • ‘Whenever We Back Off From This Disease it Comes Back and It’s Doing it With Vengeance in India’ Says Chief Health Officer at Project HOPE
            April 23, 2021             – Cheddar
            India reported the world’s highest daily rate of coronavirus cases for a second day in a row, breaking its own record. The country confirmed more than 330,000 new infections on Friday alone. For more on the dire situation in the country, we spoke to Dr. Tom Kenyon, Chief Health Officer at Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian organization, and former Director of Global Health at the CDC.
          • Covid-19 en Afrique subsaharienne : les futures mamans sont davantage privées de soins
            April 23, 2021             – France Info
            D’après une récente étude publiée par le Fonds des Nations unies pour la population (FNUAP) entre février et avril 2020 par rapport à la même période l’année précédente, “il a été constaté une augmentation de 96% du nombre de décès maternels au Kenya, 28% au Bostwana et 18% au Mozambique”, affirme Hajer Naili, porte-parole de l’ONG américaine Project Hope qui intervient dans le domaine de la santé maternelle dans plusieurs pays africains. Le nombre de mort-nés a aussi “considérablement augmenté au Soudan du Sud” : une hausse de “169%”. Avec le Tchad et la Sierra Leone, le pays compte parmi ceux qui ont enregistré plus de 1 000 décès maternels pour 100 000 naissances vivantes en 2017, les plus importants au monde.
          • The Biggest Barriers to COVID-19 Vaccination—and How to Break Them Down
            April 22, 2021             – Parents
            Support organizations making a difference: Organizations around the country are already doing some of the heavy lifting to break down vaccination barriers. Considering volunteering or donating to nonprofits like Project HOPE that have been helping with the global response to COVID-19.
          • ¿Cómo será el mundo tras la pandemia? Pistas para adentrarnos en el futuro del trabajo, los viajes o las vacunas
            April 18, 2021             – Univision
            “Entre las muchas lecciones que dejará la pandemia quizá la más duradera sea la interconexión que ha demostrado el mundo: cómo un virus que comenzó en una sola ciudad puede afectarnos a todos en cuestión de momentos”, señala Rabih Torbay, presidente de la organización internacional de salud Proyecto HOPE. “Todos conocemos a alguien que ha tenido el virus o hemos visto de primera mano los trágicos estragos que puede causar. Si queremos avanzar hacia un mundo más equitativo, no podemos olvidar esta lección”. Cuando esto haya pasado, tendremos que elegir, sostiene Torbay. “Podemos volver a las andadas o aceptar que debemos hacerlo mejor. Podemos vivir aislados, velando solo por nuestros propios intereses, o trabajar juntos para resolver estos problemas globales”.
          • Vaccinated travelers should still avoid eating and drinking on planes, experts say
            April 16, 2021             – The Washington Post
            “The crowding on the plane is going to be an issue,” says Tom Kenyon, Project HOPE’s chief health officer who spent 21 years at the CDC. “We know that the closer you are to someone with an infectious disease that’s respiratory transmitted, the more likely you are to get infected. It’s not transmitted through the ventilation system; it’s transmitted through direct contact.” Kenyon’s advice for vaccinated fliers is to be vigilant about wearing your mask (potentially an N95), use disinfectant on your hands after touching surfaces and consider wearing a face shield as the coronavirus can be transmitted through the surface of the eye. “At some point, you have to take off your mask to take a drink or have a meal, especially on a long flight – which can put you at risk because everybody does it at once. So I think a face shield would be in order.”
          • COVID-19 raises fears of increased women mortality rate
            April 13, 2021             – Anadolu Agency
            The COVID-19 restrictions have severely impacted health services for pregnant women and new moms in Africa as many of them lost their lives amid curfew restrictions, a humanitarian NGO has voiced. “In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, curfews imposed in certain African countries made it difficult for pregnant women to reach clinics and/or hospitals after curfew time,” Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian relief organization, said in its report.
          • The deadly consequences of an uneven vaccine rollout
            April 12, 2021             – Al Jazeera’s The Take podcast
            US President Joe Biden has promised every American adult they will be eligible for a COVID vaccination by April 19th. But what about the rest of the world? Only 0.01% of all vaccines distributed have gone to the developing world and now Kenya is being a hit by its 3rd wave of the virus. Many complain COVAX, the vaccine program run by the WHO, isn’t distributing the vaccine quick enough and AstraZeneca has been peppered with problems. Meanwhile, hospitals are running out of oxygen, beds are filling up and people are dying without the vaccine. In this episode: Dr. Tom Kenyon, Chief Health Officer, Project HOPE and former Director of Global Health, US Centers for Disease Control.
          • How Remote Working During Covid Is Changing Crisis Management
            April 11, 2021             – Forbes
            Training remote workers how prepare for and respond to a crisis has become more difficult for some organizations than others. Andrea Dunne-Sosa, is a regional director of the Americas for Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian organization. She said that, “While working remotely transformed the way we respond to global health and humanitarian emergencies, it prompted crisis responders to innovate and collaborate in extraordinary ways.” She said that by developing a COVID-19 Training for Health Care Workers, collaborators at Brown University, Disaster Ready, and Project HOPE leveraged tech and teaching best practices to reach more than 95,000 health care workers who speak nine languages in 55 countries. “The training program enables us to virtually cross borders to support health care workers on the local level worldwide at an unprecedented scale through times of urgent global need. Building on the virtual training model above, collaborators at Brown University, Africa CDC, and Project HOPE to date have reached 28 African countries and more than 500 health workers with online training to ensure local health leaders are prepared as Covid-19 vaccines become available,” Dunne-Sosa said.
          • Biden eyes bigger US role in global vaccination efforts
            April 10, 2021             – The Hill
            Tom Kenyon chief health officer at Project HOPE, a global health organization, said the appointment of Smith, and the remarks by Yellen and Blinken, is a sign the administration will eventually move to start sharing vaccines. “But I think we have to move beyond the promise, to action,” Kenyon said. “This is a pandemic, and it’s an emergency.” Kenyon said the U.S. should have already been sending surplus supplies to help other countries protect their health workers. “This is a public health endeavor, not a diplomatic endeavor alone. We need diplomacy, but we need public health action,” Kenyon said.
          • Researchers identify five new cases of ‘double mutant’ Covid variant in California
            April 8, 2021             – CNBC
            Dr. Tom Kenyon, chief health officer at Project HOPE and former director of global health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said scientists are finding more mutations, at least in part, because new CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky directed the agency to increase surveillance. “So the more that we look for these, the more we’re going to find them,” he said. “There’s something about the world ‘double’ that scares people and makes it sound like it’s double bad,” Kenyon said in an interview. “Any mutation affecting transmissibility or viral replication would be dangerous.”
          • COVID-19 road to recovery still very long with just 3 percent vaccinated globally
            April 7, 2021             – Al Arabiya English
            While immunization programs in major countries have been making headway in the fight against COVID-19, their collective progress on a global scale is not so significant, with only three percent of the world’s population vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, humanitarian NGO Project HOPE chief health officer said. “We should not let ourselves be misled by this early domestic progress when the majority of Americans remain unvaccinated and when only three percent of the global population has been fully vaccinated,” said the NGO’s chief health officer Dr. Tom Kenyon in a press statement released on Tuesday.
          • ‘Pandemic far from over’: Warning as only 3% of people vaccinated globally
            April 6, 2021             – Independent
            The coronavirus pandemic is far from over and “crushing waves of new cases are on the horizon” if countries abandon public health precautions, a top medical expert has warned. Dr. Tom Kenyon, chief health officer at Project HOPE, a humanitarian NGO, said that despite strong progress in vaccinating against the pandemic, only 3 per cent of the global population has been fully vaccinated. He added that in higher income countries 56 per cent of doses have been administered, but only around 10 per cent of people in lower-income countries will be inoculated in the next year.
          • ‘We’re defeated’: Climate migrants fleeing storm-stricken Central America struggle to find refuge
            April 5, 2021             – NBC News
            Marco Antonio Suazo, a consultant for Project HOPE, an international global health organization, said that “the impact has been tremendous.” “There are still homes destroyed, areas full of mud from the floods,” he said. “Many people have also lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Now we see almost entire families where fathers, mothers and children mobilize to pursue a dream but don’t know the risks, their health conditions or the language.”
          • Vaccine Watch: Cuba develops its own COVID-19 vaccines
            April 1, 2021             – ABC News Live
            “Only about 3% of the global population is fully vaccinated…if the virus is allowed to proliferate unchecked, we know now that new variants can develop and have consequences for us down the road,” says Dr. Tom Kenyon, Chief Health Officer at Project HOPE.
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    March

          • ‘I’m Helping Beirut Medics Recover From an Unthinkable Year’
            March 31, 2021             – Newsweek
            “I was born, raised and currently live in Beirut,” Project HOPE’s Associate Project Coordinator for Mental Health, Rawan Hamadeh, writes in this commentary. “I hold a master’s degree in health care management, but I went directly into the humanitarian field because I graduated just when the Syrian crisis hit. I first worked in the health sector, and then specifically in mental health with the National Mental Health Programme at the Ministry of Public Health. I later moved to Washington, D.C. and joined Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian relief organization, where I am responsible for leading global mental health programs and resiliency trainings for frontline health care workers responding to COVID-19.”
          • A little research leads one Marbleheader to a lot of hope
            March 31, 2021             – Wicked Local
            Maia Yulov is a traveler so when the COVID-19 restrictions took effect, she began to get antsy. “I was sitting around going crazy,” she admits. A nurse by trade, she works with United Healthcare and like many employees has been doing so from home for the last year. Yulov also loves to volunteer in her spare time and thought despite the pandemic, there must be something she could do. “So I did some research and I found Project HOPE,” she said. “What amazed me was their turnaround time, from application to deployment, it was impressive.” Project HOPE is “dedicated to placing power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe.”
          • “No queremos robar nada sino tener un futuro”: migrantes climáticos buscan el sueño americano pero son retornados a México
            March 28, 2021             – Noticias Telemundo
            “El impacto ha sido tremendo”, explicó Marco Antonio Suazo, consultor de la organización Project HOPE. “Aún hay viviendas destruidas, sectores llenos de lodo como los dejó la inundación. Además, muchas personas perdieron sus empleos por la pandemia”, añadió. “Ahora vemos a familias casi enteras donde padres, madres e hijos se movilizan para perseguir un sueño pero no saben los riesgos, ni sus condiciones de salud o el idioma. Somos países muy pobres donde el horizonte de la mayoría de las personas es Estados Unidos”, asevera Suazo.
          • Dreaming of summer travel? Post reporters answer your travel questions.
            March 26, 2021             – The Washington Post
            The CDC is still advising against non-essential travel at this time. That being said, we know that the word “essential” means something different for everyone. If you do decide to take the trip, do it as safely as possible. According to the health experts I’ve interviewed, that means getting vaccinated before traveling. Project HOPE’s Chief Health Officer, Dr. Tom Kenyon, who spent 21 years at the CDC (most recently as the Director for the Center for Global Health), told me people should hold off on traveling until you’ve been fully vaccinated.
          • Where Can You Travel if You’re Vaccinated?
            March 26, 2021             – U.S. News & World Report
            Though vaccinated travelers will surely be safer than their unvaccinated counterparts when it comes to sharing public spaces like airplanes, vaccinated people should take special care when traveling, according to Dr. Tom Kenyon, the chief health officer at Project HOPE, an international global health and humanitarian organization. While the top-notch air filtration systems on airplanes and mask requirements lessen the concern of in-flight virus transmission, travelers should know “the situation you’re traveling to is more important than the flight,” Kenyon said. Vaccinated individuals can likely still bring disease (coronavirus and others) into other states and countries by traveling there. Beating the coronavirus is a global effort as much as it is a nationwide concern, Kenyon added, saying, “we’ll never control [the virus] here if it’s left uncontrolled everywhere else.” Vaccinated individuals should continue to practice safety measures, including social distancing, hand-washing and mask-wearing while traveling, according to the CDC.
          • People Who Talk to Their Doctors Are More Likely to Get Vaccines
            March 26, 2021             – Verywell Health
            Thomas Kenyon, MD, MPH, the chief health officer of Project HOPE and the former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director of the Center for Global Health, tells Verywell that dispelling misinformation about COVID-19 plays a role in addressing vaccine hesitancy and other concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine. “We are seeing vaccine hesitancy decline over time as more people receive the vaccine and skeptics are more assured by additional information and seeing that it is safe,” Kenyon tells Verywell. “That said, a long history of racism, unethical research, and under-representation in clinical trials leaves communities of color in the U.S. and U.K. more skeptical of government COVID-19 vaccine programs.”
          • Mexico’s Youth Connect and Protect Communities in COVID-19 Fight
            March 25, 2021             – U.S. News & World Report
            Andrea Dunne-Sosa, Regional Director of the Americas for Project HOPE, and Yarishdy Mora, Country Director of Mexico for Project HOPE, co-write this op-ed, opening with, “As the world passes the one-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, a global health crisis that has caused millions of deaths and impacted communities across the world, it’s natural for fear and uncertainty to dim daily lives. But by studying examples of how some regions are advancing hope through innovation, the global community has much reason for optimism. One standout case comes from Mexico – the story of what’s possible when we invest in one of our most important resources: young people.”
          • Helping the helpless: Brown University’s Dr. Ruhul Abid brings health care to Rohingya refugees
            March 25, 2021             – The Boston Globe
            A series of virtual COVID-19 training, coordinated by Brown University students in partnership with Project HOPE, were given to hundreds of health care providers at the camps and across 20 different organizations throughout Bangladesh. Building patient-physician trust is essential to delivering meaningful care to the Rohingya. It’s a critical lesson that can be used to support health, and goodwill, in our own vulnerable communities, said Dr. Ruhul Abid.
          • Summer travelers grapple with a vaccine gap
            March 24, 2021             – The Washington Post
            Experts say there is an assumption that vaccines will eliminate travel-related risks of infection by the coronavirus. But they won’t. “Vaccines are not a silver bullet that will simply switch off the pandemic overnight,” explains Tom Kenyon, chief health officer at Project HOPE, an international health-care organization. “It will take time before we see the impact of the vaccine and life returns to normal.” In other words, your risk of infection does not depend entirely on whether the people you encounter on your travels are vaccinated or not. There are other factors at play, including your age, behavior and medical history.
          • Weaponisation of aid contributes to death of Yemenis
            March 23, 2021             – Al Jazeera
            Rabih Torbay, President and CEO of Project HOPE, and Dr. Zaher Sahloul, President and Co-Founder of MedGlobal, co-write this op-ed, opening with, “Six years into a devastating conflict, Yemen is at a tipping point and civilians are paying the price of war. More than 18,500 civilians have been killed or injured since March 2015 according to the Yemen Data Project, and at least 3.6 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict. Horrifically, more than 80 percent of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance. As long as fighting continues and warring actors refuse to silence their guns, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen will persist. Yemen and its health system are on the verge of collapse.”
          • Reds pitcher steps up to plate for Native Americans during pandemic
            March 17, 2021             – FOX19
            According to the CDC, Native Americans face the highest hospitalization rate of COVID-19 of any race or ethnicity in the country. Brandon Bailey discovered that from watching the news earlier this year. Coming from an indigenous family, he says he knew he had to do something to help. Bailey called his agent to see what he could do. The agency put him in contact with Project HOPE, an organization that’s been providing medical assistance to Native Americans during COVID-19. The Reds pitcher then made a video spreading awareness and encouraging others to donate to the project.
          • Making a World of Difference
            March 15, 2021             – Hemispheres Magazine
            Project HOPE volunteers include both retired medical professionals and full-time healthcare workers who are willing to give up their free time to continue caring for patients. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Project HOPE has used miles to send medical volunteers to Chicago, Houston, and Shiprock, New Mexico, in the Navajo Nation. Volunteers have tested people for COVID-19, treated patients in ICUs, conducted contact tracing, and administered vaccines. “The staff at the Northern Navajo Medical Center was wonderful but greatly overstretched,” says Beryl Brooks, a Project HOPE volunteer nurse. “We were able to lighten the workload of the nursing staff, which enabled the patients to receive more personalized daily hours of care and more personalized care as a result. People hospitalized with COVID-19 are very sick and need frequent interventions to improve outcomes. I believe that our being there helped that happen.”
          • In the shadow of its exceptionalism, America fails to invest in the basics
            March 13, 2021             – The Washington Post
            The United States accounts for just four percent of the world’s population but 20% of worldwide coronavirus deaths. A disproportionate share are poor or people of color. “Covid-19 laid bare how systematic inequities exist in this country,” said Rabih Torbay, president and CEO of Bethesda, Md.-based Project Hope, an international medical relief organization that provides assistance primarily in war-torn and disaster-ravaged nations, but also increasingly works in the United States. “Where you have the best hospitals and where you don’t, where you have the best health care and where you don’t,” Torbay said.
          • ‘Never again’: the race to prevent the next pandemic
            March 11, 2021             – The Telegraph
            Tom Kenyon is a former director of global health at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He’s now at the NGO Project HOPE, but he remembers the ebb and flow of interest in pandemics well. “Another pandemic is imminent, it could be happening now,” he said. “I know we’re not ready, although maybe we are better prepared. But if you look at what happened after Ebola, there was a temporary influx of resources from the US government and then we backed off. But strengthening these systems takes time and if you use them regularly to detect when something is out of the ordinary, you can then investigate and respond accordingly, and scale up when something big comes along.”
          • Indian Health Services Is an Unsung Hero of the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
            March 11, 2021             – Verywell Health
            Others agree that IHS has shined throughout the public health crisis. “A cultural, all-hands approach and vaccine messaging have propelled Indian Health Services (IHS) to be a beacon of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Harley Jones, MA, senior manager of domestic emergency response for Project HOPE, tells Verywell. “IHS began vaccine preparation early on, creating an emergency response system to oversee their rollout, and they involved everyone.” Project HOPE partnered with IHS to provide pandemic support to the Navajo Nation. Volunteers with the organization have been helping the Navajo IHS area, which serves over 244,000 American Indians across Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, with vaccine rollout.
          • Se cumple un año de la declaración de pandemia: ¿actuó demasiado tarde la OMS?
            March 11, 2021             – Univision
            Tom Kenyon, director de salud de Project HOPE, una organización mundial de ayuda humanitaria y de salud advierte por su parte que la próxima pandemia similar a covid-19 podría ocurrir en cualquier momento. “Antes de que lo haga, es fundamental que EEUU establezca un programa nacional para entregar rápidamente nuevas vacunas eficaces para evitar niveles catastróficos de mortalidad, destrucción económica, agitación social e inseguridad”, dice este experto, que señala que el próximo nuevo virus pandémico podría ser aún más transmisible y letal.
          • One Year After The Pandemic: Moving Forward with Project HOPE
            March 11, 2021 – Good Day LA
            One year ago today the WHO declared covid-19 a global pandemic. Since then Covid-19 has changed nearly every aspect of life on the planet. Globally, more than 100-million people have been infected and 2-million have died. Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian organization was one of the first groups to respond to the virus’ epicenter in Wuhan, China. Their members have seen first-hand the impact of the virus. Project HOPE’s Executive VP, Chris Skopec discusses where we are now and how we can move forward out of this pandemic.
          • 1 in 22 Nigerian Women Die While Having a Baby. How Can We Stop This?
            March 10, 2021 – Global Citizen
            Nigeria is home to 20% of all maternal deaths in the world — at least 800 of every 100,000 live births lead to the death of the mother. Global Citizen spoke with Dr. Uche Ralph-Opara, Nigeria country representative and senior advisor for systems strengthening at Project HOPE, an international global health and humanitarian organisation, about the challenges and solutions to maternal health care in Nigeria. “In my opinion, some of the biggest challenges faced by Nigerian women in accessing maternal health care include inequities of accessibility to health services, especially for those in rural communities where health facilities are sparsely distributed; poor health-seeking behaviours, mainly stemming from lack of education and available resources and information, poverty, socio-cultural or religious beliefs, and also affordability of health services.”
          • In Central America, women and girls bear the brunt of storm disaster fallout
            March 9, 2021 – The New Humanitarian
            “I don’t think the humanitarian world took this as seriously as it merited,” said Vlatko Uzevski, who led an emergency medical response team from health non-profit Project HOPE in western Honduras following the hurricanes. “There is a need there, and people need support.” Uzevski’s team was deployed to the badly hit Santa Bárbara department in anticipation of injuries and other immediate needs. Instead, they found rising gastro-intestinal issues, skin infections, and conditions ripe for a major dengue outbreak – problems all also noted by the Pan American Health Organization. “All those health issues were related to water and sanitation,” Uzevski told TNH. “Everywhere, you could see the destruction of the water systems.”
          • Wondering When It Will Be Your Turn to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine?
            March 9, 2021 – PBS Next Avenue
            “You have to look at risk factors and target your vaccination efforts towards that, as best you can,” said Dr. Tom Kenyon, chief health officer at Project HOPE, an international global health and humanitarian organization and publisher of the journal Health Affairs. Kenyon, a public health expert who spent 21 years with the CDC working on global health issues and infectious disease, said he understands the challenges localities are facing and the dilemma of when to open up vaccinations to new risk groups…
            “I think we need to be as concerned about global coverage of vaccination,” said Kenyon. Not only because it’s the right thing to do from a humanitarian perspective, but it’s also important to our own pandemic. “Because until the world is covered with vaccine, no place will be safe,” Kenyon noted.
          • Vaccine diplomacy: how Russia and China are using their Covid-19 jabs to win friends and influence people
            March 8, 2021 – The Telegraph
            Tom Kenyon, a former director of global health at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and now with the NGO Project Hope, said: “Vaccines are a global good, and they should be made available irrespective of our political perspective. “We need to look at all the vaccines objectively – even the vaccines coming from China and Russia – and include them in our toolbox. I think as scientists see the data coming about efficacy and safety, they should be blind to where it’s coming from. Maybe it’s unrealistic, but that’s what we should strive for.”
          • How the Covid-19 Anniversary Might Mess With Your Head 
            March 8, 2021 – Elemental
            Cinira Baldi offers her experience traveling to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi one year after it was shaken by a powerful earthquake as an example. Baldi, the vice president and chief development and communications officer of humanitarian organization Project HOPE, met with two sisters who were still struggling to process that devastating day. They recounted it to her as if it happened hours rather than months earlier. “The memories are so raw, one of them told me she still sleeps outside because she’s afraid to sleep indoors,” Baldi says. “A year had passed for us, but for them, the pain and the fear are still there.” She’s been thinking about that trip as March approaches. “I think many of us are going to feel like it just happened,” she says.
          • Project embarks on virus vaccination training in Africa
            March 4, 2021 – Anadolu Agency
            A humanitarian group has launched online training to ensure local vaccinators in over 20 African countries are ready to do their job as COVID-19 vaccines become available. In a statement late Wednesday, US-based Project HOPE said over 140 participants from South Africa and Ethiopia last week already took the first training. “As vaccines become available, local vaccinators are racing against time to immunize as many people as possible. With these training, healthcare workers are equipped with adequate knowledge and skills to respond rapidly and safely,” said Rabih Torbay, the group’s head.
          • US charity rolls out vaccination training in 20 African countries
            March 4, 2021 – The Telegraph
            A US humanitarian organisation called Project HOPE is set to train Covid-19 vaccinators in more than 20 African countries, Jennifer Rigby reports. The training, developed by Project HOPE with Brown University and in conjunction with the African Centre for Disease Control, will be delivered online and aims to cover practicalities around storage and delivery as well as information about the different jabs available, as well as advice on how to answer questions from the community.
          • Covid-19 in Lebanon: Health workers yet to receive vaccines as MPs jump the queue
            March 3, 2021 – Middle East Eye
            “Migrants and refugees are left out of the campaign. This is a breach of the terms and conditions made by the authorities,” CEO and president of international organisation Project HOPE, Rabih Torbay, told MEE, pointing out that migrant workers and undocumented refugees are obstructed from registering for the vaccine. Torbay fears that these developments could jeopardise Lebanon’s relationship with the international community, which has provided humanitarian aid for the crisis-hit country. “This sends a terrible message to the international community that has mobilised to support Lebanon, and risks jeopardising future possibilities for financial support,” he said.
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    February

          • Sustained Drop in Covid-19 Nursing-Home Deaths Points to Vaccinations
            February 26, 2021             – The Wall Street Journal
          • The Leftovers: Inside The Fierce Hunt For Extra Vaccines
            February 26, 2021             – Refinery29
            “Vaccine wastage” is the result of how vaccine vials are prepared for use at the end of the day, explains Tom Kenyon, MD, Chief Health Officer at Project HOPE and former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Center for Global Health. Each vial of the Pfizer vaccine contains up to six doses, and is stored at -112ºF to -76ºF. To prepare one dose, the entire vial must be thawed and mixed with a saline solution. After that, the remaining doses must be used within six hours or they’ll expire. The Moderna vials contain up to 11 doses. To extract one dose, the vial’s rubber cap is punctured; then, like with Pfizer, you have six hours to use the rest. The gist: These things are ticking timebombs, only instead of exploding, they fizzle out and die.
          • COVAX: Why Biden’s billions won’t fix Covid vaccine inequality worldwide
            February 26, 2021             – NBC News
            Sharing immediately is not only “the right thing to do from a humanitarian perspective, it is in the interest of rich countries to stop transmission everywhere,” said Dr. Tom Kenyon, a former director of the CDC’s Center for Global Health and the former CDC director for Ethiopia, now chief health officer at Project HOPE, an international global health organization.
          • How Are Rural Areas Doing with COVID-19 Vaccinations? A Look at 3 Region
            February 25, 2021             – Healthline
            Harley Jones, the domestic COVID-19 response lead of international health and humanitarian NGO Project HOPE, has helped coordinate the response to COVID-19 in various states by supporting frontline workers and providing additional staff to handle the surge of COVID-19 patients in hospitals and clinics. His organization has been helping with pandemic mitigation and vaccination efforts in the Navajo Nation since last summer. “Regardless of where you’re at, communication and access are key, and these are a little bit different in rural areas versus urban areas,” said Jones. “You want to make it as simple for people as you can, but then you also need to know and understand the limitations that people are going to have.”
          • Evening Edition: Lebanon Has Not Recovered From Beirut Blast
            February 25, 2021             – Fox News Radio
            Lebanon has been descending into poverty and chaos since an explosion rocked the capital in August with banks and hospitals in a state of collapse. What worsens the matter is the fact the Prime Minister and his cabinet stepped down following the blast and a new government is yet to be formed. FOX’s Trey Yingst speaks with Rabih Torbay, CEO & President of Project HOPE, about how NGO’s, including his own, are trying to help the country stabilize itself.
          • Are Warming Centers Safe During a Pandemic?
            February 24, 2021             – Verywell Health
            Many temporary shelters are limited in their ability to make modifications to the buildings that house them. Harley Jones, MA, Senior Manager, Domestic Emergency Response for international health care NGO Project HOPE, says that while hospitals can section off entire wards and implement different ventilation systems, shelters are set up in buildings that might not allow for these precautions. Jones also says people are more likely to act in response to the current danger of the Texas storms than worry about the risks of the pandemic. “Making sure you’re social distancing and making sure you’re masked sometimes falls to the wayside when you’re worrying about where you stay and eat the next day,” Jones tells Verywell. “And I think that’s human nature.”
          • Innovating post-Covid-19 crisis relief
            February 18, 2021             – BBC Future
            “It has become much more complicated at every level,” says Rabih Torbay, president and CEO of Project HOPE, an NGO that focuses on empowering health workers around the world to save lives. “Our ability to respond to emergencies, be able to travel, be able to deploy volunteers is challenged. In addition to that Covid-19 has caused an overlay of challenges on top of the crisis itself — and there’s a serious lack of health worker volunteers as all our medical volunteers are tied up with the Covid-19 response in their home countries.”
          • From sermons to WhatsApp messages, these Britons are trying to dispel Covid-19 myths in minority communities
            February 12, 2021             – CNN
            The speed of the vaccination’s development has also fueled misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine. “We need to counter misinformation with the facts as we know them in the various ways of communication at our disposal,” Dr. Tom Kenyon, chief health officer at the Project HOPE organization, told CNN. “Eventually, the facts will prevail and increased vaccination uptake will result.”
          • Food security, agriculture remain threatened 2 months after Central American hurricanes
            February 9, 2021             – Devex
            In addition to impacting agricultural activity, lingering floodwaters also pose a threat to a safe water supply. Project HOPE is working with local NGOs to conduct training about water purification and how chlorine can be used to make water safe to drink. The organization is also working in the Santa Barbara department of Honduras to help increase availability of water testing, said Tom Cotter, director of emergency response and preparedness at Project HOPE. “When the hurricanes came in it really damaged the infrastructure in these communities,” Cotter said. “What we’re finding is a lot of the coliforms, the E. coli, comes from poor waste management and poor water supply. So these families, when they get water from the well, it’s been contaminated basically by sewage and that lends itself to a really dangerous situation where the water supply can make people sicker.”
          • She Advocates for Healthcare Workers’ Lives
            February 8, 2021             – CircleAround
            Everyone’s lives changed in one way or another because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but health care workers were among the groups impacted most. Beyond the recent crisis, health care workers are often on the frontlines, risking their lives to help those in need. Project HOPE is an organization that’s been advocating for these heroes for over 60 years. “Our mission is to place power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe,” says Cinira Baldi, vice president and chief development and communications officer for Project HOPE in the following feature Q&A.
          • Preventing queue jumping in Lebanon’s vaccine rollout needs government transparency
            February 6, 2021             – Al Arabiya
            President and CEO Rabih Torbay starts this op-ed stating, “As the government starts rolling out its COVID-19 vaccination program, it is imperative that vaccination is accessible to everyone in the country based on risk factors and vulnerability, and without any distinction of nationality and residency status. Government transparency will make sure no one jumps the vaccine line because of their political connections, or socio-economic status.”
          • In 2020, Lebanon was spiraling. 6 months after the Beirut blast, half of the country lives below the poverty line and the health sector is crumbling.
            February 6, 2021             – Business Insider
            Rabih Torbay, the CEO of relief organization Project HOPE, has also raised alarms about vaccine distribution particularly for vulnerable populations in Lebanon. “We’re starting to see some concerning trends in terms of who the vaccine should go to. The government made a statement that the vaccine would go to everybody on the ground in Lebanon, and they have to make sure that it actually does because it is the obligation of the government as the host government,” Torbay said.
          • Understanding the New Strains of COVID-19
            February 5, 2021 – U.S. News & World Report
            Are variants more deadly? Apparently yes, but not drastically so. “To put it in perspective, for the normal COVID, the mortality rate was (about) 10 out of 1,000 cases,” says Dr. Tom Kenyon, chief health officer for Project HOPE and a former director of the CDC’s Center for Global Health. “With this new variant, it would be more up around 13 or 14 per 1,000. So, it’s a significant increase but we just don’t want the public to panic and feel like now COVID is going to be uniformly fatal. That’s not what (scientists) are saying.”
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    January

            • Empathy and COVID-19: Is a reset on our collective empathy possible?
              January 31, 2021 – Psychology Today
              “Empathy is critical and key,” agrees Cinira Baldi, Vice President and Chief Development & Communications Officer for Project HOPE, a non-governmental global health organization. “As a humanitarian worker, I’ve traveled to Jordan refugee camps, been to the border of South Sudan, met with survivors of the Indonesia 2018 tsunami… many times, I have been moved beyond words by people’s capacity for strength and resilience through conditions unthinkable to many.”
            • Covid vaccines: Rollout in disarray in U.S. and abroad
              January 31, 2021 – NBC News
              In the U.S., “the rollout is slow and awkward and very frustrating for our population,” said Dr. Tom Kenyon, a former director of the CDC’s Center for Global Health. “We have a very divided approach,” said Kenyon, who is now chief health officer at Project HOPE, an international global health and humanitarian organization. “We actually have states competing with each other to get the vaccine. That’s not optimal in any sense.”
            • What the COVID-19 Vaccine Could Mean for Future Travel
              January 28, 2021 – Travel + Leisure
              “Both the vaccines suggest they have 95% efficacy against severe disease, but that doesn’t mean they have 95% efficacy against infection,” Dr. Thomas Kenyon, chief health officer at Project Hope and 21-year veteran of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Travel + Leisure. “I think we’re going to have to see how the pandemic evolves. Certainly as incidents decline, your risk declines.”
            • LEBANON’S QUAGMIRE —How many crises can a nation bear at the same time?
              January 28, 2021               – POLITICO
              Many young volunteers turned out to clean downtown Beirut. In many cases, without masks, said Rabih Torbay, the president and CEO of Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian relief organization that played a major role in the Lebanon response. The tragedy hit home for Torbay, who grew up in Lebanon during the country’s 15-year civil war and had family members injured in the explosion. He was in Beirut within 48 hours of the blast and said the desperation he saw on people’s faces was worse than during the war.
            • Many Nurses on the Frontlines of COVID-19 Feel Overworked and Under-Appreciated—Here’s What Needs To Change
              January 27, 2021               – Well + Good
              Some organizations have worked proactively to meet the most pressing needs of their nurses. Harley Jones is the U.S. COVID-19 response lead at Project HOPE, a non-profit that empowers local health care all over the world. During the pandemic, he has been working in Navajo Nation as a liaison between volunteer doctors and nurses and the Indian Health Service. “I’ve heard time and time again how grateful people are for the volunteer nurses who come in to help with the surge in COVID-19 patients. There’s a strong feeling of support because the volunteer nurses alleviate some of the pressures the [staff nurses] are experiencing on a daily basis,” Jones says.
            • Rebuilding in Beirut: How local members are recovering, helping others after deadly explosion
              January 26, 2021               – The Church News
              Latter-day Saint Charities is funding a number of other projects in Lebanon, including: Project HOPE partnered with the Rene Moawad Foundation to provide emergency health supplies, including 165 pallets of medications, syringes, bandages, gauze and N95 masks.
            • Episode 2: Rabih Torbay, Project HOPE
              January 25, 2021               – Charity Matters
              The Charity Matters Podcast shares the stories of innovators, entrepreneurs and inspiring modern-day heroes who set out to solve the problems of humanity with their incredible journeys of service. Join us each week for a front-row seat to the best of humanity.
            • How COVID-19 has changed the rules of the game in the aid sector
              January 25, 2021               – Al Jazeera
              As we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, conducting ‘business as usual’ in the aid sector can no longer be an option, writes Rabih Torbay, President and CEO of Project HOPE, in this op-ed. “As we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, conducting “business as usual” in the aid sector can no longer be an option. In fact, it would be a betrayal to the people and communities we seek to help. We cannot keep using old tricks for new challenges. We have here a moment to seize and the current pandemic presents significant opportunities to accelerate change – one of them being a genuine investment in local and national capacities.”
            • Earthquake hits already devastated Indonesia
              January 22, 2021               – WORLD
              “The people of Indonesia inspire the world community as an example of extraordinary resilience,” said Dr. Vlatko Uzevski, emergency response leader for the nonprofit Project HOPE, which is also responding in Sulawesi.
            • How Companies Can Partner With Governments To Distribute COVID Vaccines Efficiently and Effectively
              January 21, 2021               – Forbes
              “Companies and organizations play a critical role in addressing public health and humanitarian crises by filling in gaps to strengthen response efforts led by governments and global donors. Their role as part of cross-sector solutions is more important than ever amidst the current pandemic and as we prepare to prevent future public health crises,” according to Chris Skopec, executive vice president of Project HOPE, the international humanitarian and relief organization.
            • Tybee resident shares America’s good face, good heart through global Project HOPE
              January 18, 2021               – Savannah Morning News
              I visited Beryl to hear about her recent trip as a volunteer with Project HOPE COVID crisis team at the Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock, New Mexico. She is there now, again, this time joined by her granddaughter who is a pre-med student. Beryl told me about a day when the neighboring Apache tribe came and did a healing dance outside the hospital all afternoon. “It was in honor of the health care workers and the sick people. It was a blessing and really cheered up the staff, who were working so hard.”
            • Séisme en Indonésie: les pluies torrentielles compliquent les recherches
              January 17, 2021               – Yahoo! France / AFP
              “La situation en Indonésie relève de l’urgence”, a affirmé l’ONG Project HOPE. “Le Covid-19 complique encore la réponse.”
            • 22 Questions to Ask Your Doctor About the COVID-19 Vaccine
              January 15, 2021               – U.S. News & World Report
              “There’s still much to be learned about this vaccine,” Kenyon says. “Are we sure it’s going to prevent transmission? That isn’t yet confirmed. There’s early evidence, at least for the Moderna vaccine, that it probably does. But you can still, potentially, be vaccinated and acquire COVID-19 asymptomatically and spread it to others. We don’t know yet.” Therefore, it’s important to continue to wear masks and practice social distancing even after you are vaccinated, in order to protect others.
            • At virus tipping point, Lebanon imposes all-day curfew
              January 14, 2021               – AP News
              Still, Rabih Torbay, who heads Project HOPE, an international global health and humanitarian organization, said time is of essence and urged authorities to take any step that might help curb infections. “Every day that goes by the country is sliding further into the abyss,” he said.
            • El enorme reto al que se enfrenta Biden para enderezar la caótica campaña de vacunación
              January 9, 2021               – Univision
              Entre los factores que determinarán la rapidez con la que volvemos a la normalidad se encuentra el ritmo de investigación de vacunas adicionales; la producción y distribución de vacunas y, lo más importante, la velocidad y el grado en que cubrimos a las poblaciones de mayor riesgo con las vacunas, incluidas dos dosis de las vacunas actuales, señala Tom Kenyon, Chief Health Officer en Project HOPE, una organización de salud global.
            • Share This: 7 Ways to Support Nurses in 2021
              January 8, 2021               – Daily Nurse
              Give to Charities that Support Covid Frontliners: Project HOPE focuses primarily on providing PPE to health care workers, delivering training on how to care for COVID-19 patients, and deploying health care workers to medical facilities in need of additional staffing.
            • 3 tips from nonprofit professionals on how to stay connected during deployment
              January 7, 2021               – The Last Mile
              goTenna’s CEO Daniela Perdomo sat down with leaders in the nonprofit sector to discuss “Navigating connectivity in the digital divide.” As someone who is currently deployed to Honduras on a cyclone disaster recovery relief mission, Tom Cotter, Directory of Emergency Response and Preparedness at Project HOPE, also had his fair share of satellite phone usage.
            • How the COVID-19 Vaccines Are Providing Hope to a Hard-Hit Navajo Nation
              January 4, 2021               – Healthline
              Project HOPE has been helping out hard-hit areas across the nation from the start, Harley Jones, who is the program’s U.S. COVID-19 response leader, told Healthline. But the Navajo Nation created, in some ways, a unique set of challenges. “What’s happening in Navajo Nation is extremely similar to what is happening in minority and other underserved populations,” Jones said. What’s unique comes down to culture. “Cultural competency (when coming in to help a community) is very important,” Jones said.
            • What vaccines mean for the return of travel
              January 4, 2021               – National Geographic
              “Vaccine hesitancy is a critical obstacle to overcome,” says Dr. Tom Kenyon, the chief health officer of Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian relief organization, and a former director at U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To get back to travel, the U.S. and the world need herd immunity, thought to be achieved when about 70 percent of the population has protective antibodies. Kenyon says, though, that “70 percent is an arbitrary figure, and there is no ‘off/on’ switch with herd immunity.”
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    2020

            • Here’s how to help those affected by the coronavirus pandemic
              December 29, 2020               – CNBC Make It
              For over 60 years, Project HOPE has worked to support local health-care workers. Now with the coronavirus pandemic, it’s focused on bringing protective gear for American doctors and nurses. Additionally, the organization has activated its global roster of medical volunteers to provide staff in hard-hit U.S. cities, including Chicago. The organization is also coordinating international efforts in high-risk countries like North Macedonia, Kosovo, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Colombia.
            • 2 hurricanes in 2 weeks: Doctor gives firsthand account of devastation in Honduras
              December 20, 2020               – NewsNation Now
              NewsNation spoke to Dr. Vlatko Uzevski with Project HOPE. Uzevski is leading an emergency response team in Honduras. In his own words, Uzevski describes just how dire the situation is in Honduras: ““When you visit the affected areas, the first thing that that is coming to your eye, it’s the destruction and especially of the water system of the country. Also, it’s very visible landslides that you see around them, it damaged roads and bridges on the huge bridges on the rivers that are completely wiped out. So there are some communities that are completely cut off from the from the civilization.”
            • Navajo Nation COVID vaccine roll-out begins as cases, deaths rise
              December 17, 2020               – Al Jazeera
              Harley Jones, the US COVID response lead for international health care NGO Project HOPE, whose team of volunteers is working at Shiprock, said one of his volunteer nurses is working 12-hour days, six days a week, in the intensive care unit at the Northern Navajo Medical Center. These healthcare professionals are working alongside others to help with COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, and in some cases, delivering food and medical supplies, Jones said.
            • Unique holiday gift ideas that keep giving long after celebrations end
              December 17, 2020               – Fox Business
              Project HOPE works to alleviate the world’s shortage of health care workers by offering solutions on the front lines to combat critical health challenges. The organization is currently playing a vital role in helping to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, distributing more than 11 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE), providing training for more than 83,000 health workers and front-line personnel, and reaching more than 150 countries.
            • Microchips and mandatory shots: Don’t fall for these coronavirus vaccine myths
              December 16, 2020               – CNET
              “COVID-19 is on track to become the leading infectious disease killer in the world in 2020, exceeding the annual number of deaths from HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria,” says Dr. Tom Kenyon, a former CDC director and Project HOPE’s chief health officer. “This is staggering.”
            • How did we develop a COVID-19 vaccine so quickly?
              December 15, 2020               – Medical News Today
              According to Dr. Kenyon, misinformation surrounding mRNA vaccines stems from a concern that the vaccine infects people with the virus. “Nobody is getting infected with a COVID vaccine. It is only the surface protein that would be replicated because we have given you the messenger RNA. It is not the entire virus,” he explained.
            • Coronavirus Vaccine Doesn’t Alter Winter Holiday Safety Guidance
              December 15, 2020               – AARP
              “The virus is everywhere. This is a very precarious time,” says Tom Kenyon, an epidemiologist, a former director of the CDC Center for Global Health and now the chief health officer for Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian relief organization. “We know that at present, most transmission is actually happening from these small gatherings.”
            • Even Disaster Veterans Are Stunned By What’s Happening In Honduras
              December 14, 2020               – NPR
              “The water system of the Santa Barbara department is 100% collapsed,” says Vlatko Uzevski, who arrived in Honduras last week from Macedonia to lead an emergency response team for Project HOPE. Helping set up temporary water distribution points is one of the things Project HOPE is working on in the area.
            • How They Handled—Or Created—A Crisis In 2020: Here Are The New Members Of My Crisis Management Hall Of Fame
              December 11, 2020               – Forbes
              “For almost every emergency, there will be a corresponding health crisis,” according to Rabih Torbay, Project HOPE’s President and CEO. “The first minutes, hours and days of a response are critical to saving lives. Project HOPE works to support and provide resources for local health care workers worldwide–who are always the first responders–to implement solutions that are best for their specific communities and situations.”
            • Climate Change Is Our Reality; Now Is The Time To Solve It
              December 8, 2020               – Health Affairs
              “The good news is that our greatest challenges are prime opportunities to drive and realize positive change. In a time in which much is broken, the chance to build back better is right before us. This is the time to make our most meaningful progress yet toward sustainable development goals. The hope for a better world lies in our resilience…” writes Rabih Torbay, President and CEO of Project HOPE.
            • 8 coronavirus vaccine myths, debunked
              December 7, 2020               – CNET
              “It will take time, but to bring this pandemic to an end will require us all to unite and be vaccinated, as well as continue to follow recommendations from the scientists to wear a mask, keep a safe distance from others and to wash our hands,” says Dr. Tom Kenyon, a former CDC director and Project HOPE’s chief health officer.
            • Health issues emerge as top concern among Nagorno-Karabakh refugees in Armenia
              December 3, 2020               – Panorama Armenia
              The armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh has forced several thousand people suffering from health issues out of their homes. Many displaced persons, who have taken refuge at transitional settlements across Armenia, are suffering from life-threatening health conditions and face inadequate access to health care services, according to an assessment conducted by Project HOPE.
            • Navajo Nation again faces ‘major health care crisis,’ officials say
              December 3, 2020               – The Washington Post
              Harley Jones — who does emergency management with Project HOPE, which supplies extra frontline workers so others can take time off — said the Navajo Nation is now struggling to get enough healthcare providers and that “it’s not in the forefront of everyone’s mind that they need support.” He said the Navajos in particular are seeing “an extreme need for additional nurses” at their healthcare facilities.
            • The hunt for Covid’s origins
              December 3, 2020 – POLITICO
              What we know about the WHO inquiry so far: The investigatory team includes 10 experts and will be split into two phases. “It’s really detective work. It requires tracking down the infected person and doing interviews to find out who or what that person was exposed to. And like in any detective work, the trail goes colder the longer it takes,” said Tom Kenyon, who’s now the chief health officer at Project HOPE.
            • A guide to helping and getting help during the coronavirus crisis
              December 2, 2020               – CNN
              CNN’s Impact Your World has compiled a list of donation opportunities and tips to help those  affected by the COVID-19 crisis, such as Project HOPE. This humanitarian NGO has mobilized teams in high-risk countries, to help support doctors and nurses on the front lines of the fight to save lives.
            • America will be the first country to roll out a covid-19 vaccine
              November 28, 2020               – The Economist
              “Unlike many other countries, America has a more ‘passive’ approach to vaccination and is not used to doing big immunization campaigns,” says Tom Kenyon from Project HOPE, a health non-profit, who used to lead the CDC’s Global Health Program. “This works for childhood vaccination. But COVID-19 is different. Lots of mini vaccination drives to cover specific groups, such as frontline workers, will be crucial,” says Dr. Kenyon.
            • Governments around the world weigh thorny question: Who gets the vaccine first?
              November 27, 2020               – POLITICO
              Demand for the coronavirus vaccine will outstrip supply, presenting a massive dilemma for governments, which must decide who gets the vaccine first or early, and who must wait. “You want to target the highest risk, because this will get you the biggest benefit,” said Tom Kenyon, a former director of CDC’s Center for Global Health, now chief health officer at the non-profit Project HOPE, who cited the example of truck drivers in Africa being identified as key spreaders of the virus.
            • How Project HOPE Prepares For And Responds To Crisis Situations Around The World
              November 23, 2020 – The Crisis Ahead Podcast
              Rabih Torbay, President and CEO of Project HOPE, speaks with Forbes columnist Edward Segal to discuss how the international organization prepares for and responds to crisis situations around the world, and what others can learn their work. “Training health workers is critical. Because when a crisis happens it’s not us who responds to it, it’s the local health workers.”
            • US provides $17M in humanitarian aid as Hurricane Iota death toll rises
              November 22, 2020               – Fox News
              Iota hammered parts of Central America and Columbia that were recently hit by Hurricane Eta. Footage tweeted by Hajer Naili, Media Relations Manager of the aid organization Project HOPE shows large numbers of people sheltering under a highway overpass in Colonia Sitraterco, Honduras.
            • Pandemic Forces Family Thanksgiving Traditions to Online Platforms
              November 20, 2020               – The Baltimore Times
              As the holiday season approaches, the threat and spread of COVID-19 has increased at alarming rates. “It’s more important than ever to double down on personal safety and public health precautions,” said Dr. Tom Kenyon, Project HOPE’s Chief Health Officer. “As for Thanksgiving and gatherings, we have to keep reminding ourselves: Is this group dinner or holiday party worth risking someone’s life?”
            • Iota devastates Nicaragua and Honduras; death toll rises
              November 18, 2020               – Fox News
              Hurricanes Eta and Iota are causing increased COVID-19 infections across the displaced populations. Fox News highlights how Project HOPE is responding and addressing additional long-term impacts such as other infectious diseases increasing. “This is a crisis of a level that we haven’t seen before,” said Andrea Dunne-Sosa, Project HOPE’s Regional Director for the Americas.
            • Help Central America hurricane victims
              November 17, 2020               – CNN
              Hurricane Iota hit Central America as a Category 4 storm only two weeks after Hurricane Eta devastated countries such as Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. CNN spotlights non-profit emergency relief efforts for communities affected by the hurricanes, including Project HOPE.
            • Covid vaccine will test Biden’s global leadership
              November 12, 2020               – POLITICO
              The deep freeze required for Pfizer’s new coronavirus vaccine presents global obstacles. Dr. Tom Kenyon said that the global community also has to be educated and ready to receive the vaccine, and there must be enough health care workers to administer it – both of which can pose potential additional roadblocks.
            • Utah declares state of emergency and orders residents to mask up amid Covid-19 case surge
              November 9, 2020               – NBC News
              As Pfizer raised hope for a new coronavirus vaccine, NBC News turned to Dr. Tom Kenyon to discuss who should receive the vaccine first – identifying doctors, nurses and frontline workers. That’s just the beginning as Dr. Kenyon said, “It will take time, but to bring this pandemic to an end will require us all to unite and be vaccinated.”
            • Elliott Erwitt: ‘Photography is pretty simple. You just react to what you see’
              November 9, 2020 – The Guardian
              Elliott Erwitt has photographed some of the most notable moments of modern history. Now, he teamed up with the Project HOPE and philanthropy firm Phil Ropy for a campaign that turns one of Erwitt’s photographs into a digital collectible card to raise awareness about providing personal protective equipment to healthcare workers around the world.
            • Covid set to cause 400,000 surge in TB deaths as medics diverted
              November 8, 2020 – The Guardian
              Millions of missed diagnoses will add to global pandemic toll, warns WHO study. Dr. Tom Kenyon discusses the deaths that will be caused indirectly by COVID-19: “It was obviously crucial that we tackle the pandemic but we cannot forget that we have other killers in our midst. We are going to have to be innovative in addressing them.”
            • For second straight day, U.S. Covid cases reach new high
              October 23, 2020 – NBC News
              The U.S. is setting daily records for coronavirus cases, and pandemic fatigue is setting in. Dr. Tom Kenyon advises that it’s not too late for us to change the course of the pandemic by following simple safety precautions.
            • 3 Ways to Ensure Your Crisis Management and Communication Plans Will Work
              October 12, 2020 – Forbes
              What effect has the coronavirus crisis had in convincing companies to prepare for the next crisis — or how to survive this ongoing national public health emergency? Rabih Torbay, President and CEO of Project HOPE, shared how to create and implement an effective crisis plan.
            • Health Care Workers in Remote Regions Get Access to Free Online Coronavirus Training
              September 23, 2020 – ABC7’s The Denver Channel
              Project HOPE was already on the ground in Wuhan, China when the initial COVID-19 outbreak occurred. As the virus started spreading, HOPE realized they not only needed more people to be trained, but they needed to reach more people around the world.
            • Project HOPE and how you can support relief efforts in Lebanon
              August 14, 2020 – WJLA’s Good Morning Washington
              It’s been 10 days since two explosions devastated the capital of Lebanon. Rabih Torbay, President and CEO of Project HOPE, just returned from Beirut on an emergency response mission. He shared how you can help relief efforts.
            • Everything You Need to Protect Yourself (and Others) From COVID-19 on Campus
              August 12, 2020 – New York Magazine
              We spoke with doctors, public-health experts, and education professionals to find out exactly what college kids will need to protect themselves — and others — on campus. Project HOPE’s Tom Cotter weighs in.
            • In Beirut, humanitarian responders confront layers of disaster
              August 10, 2020 – Devex
              The humanitarian response to the deadly explosion in Beirut last week is complicated by preexisting economic instability and rising levels of food insecurity in Lebanon. Project HOPE is responding a bit differently, as “large teams on a moment’s notice is not really practical anymore.”
            • Europe Sees Rise in COVID-19 After Reopening
              August 6, 2020 – Healthline
              “Many countries seeing an uptick in cases likely reopened much too soon, and many individuals relaxed their efforts to follow public health recommendations,” Chris Skopec said. “But this is not unique to Europe, as evidenced by case numbers in the U.S., Australia, Japan, and other countries.”
            • Houston, Miami, other cities face mounting health care worker shortages as infections climb
              July 25, 2020 – The Washington Post
              At Harris Health System in Houston, 162 staff members — including more than 50 nurses — are quarantined, either because they tested positive or are awaiting results. Harris Health turned to the state and the international nonprofit Project HOPE for resources.
            • 5 Ways You Can Support Healthcare Workers on the Front Lines of COVID-19
              July 19, 2020 – Popsugar
              Healthcare workers are always in need of personal protective equipment. Several organizations accept monetary donations that help get frontline healthcare professionals necessary equipment, including Project HOPE.
            • Hundreds of nurses pour into Texas to help fight second COVID surge
              July 10, 2020 – The Houston Chronicle
              Harris Health System is working with a temp agency but has also turned to nonprofit Project HOPE, which provides medical professionals from across the country to places facing medical crises.
            • Avril Lavigne And Sarah McLachlan Both Perform During Virtual Canada Day Celebrations
              July 1, 2020 – Entertainment Tonight Canada
              The Canadian songstress Avril Lavigne performed her new hit “We Are Warriors” which was released to support Project HOPE and its COVID-19 relief efforts. Lavigne first released the song at the end of April and collaborated with nurses, doctors and more for the official music video.
            • How to Watch the ‘Lord of the Rings’ Reunion
              May 30, 2020 – Lifehacker
              In each episode of ‘Reunited Apart’, Josh Gad raises money for a COVID-19-related charity. Previous organizations have included Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian relief organization.
            • How I’m Living How: Josh Gad, Actor, Writer and Producer
              May 19, 2020 – The Hollywood Reporter
              The star, who is in preproduction on multiple projects and recording voice work from home, talks virtual pitch meetings, overhauling his carefully planned shooting schedule and launching web series ‘Reunited Apart.’
            • Thomas Wilson Reprises ‘Back to the Future’ Villain Biff Tannen
              May 14, 2020 – The Hollywood Reporter
              The character called in to a supplemental episode of Josh Gad’s ‘Reunited Apart’ for a surprise appearance.
            • Nurses Day: How to honor the health care workers
              May 12, 2020 – CNN
              International Nurses Day is celebrated May 12, marking the birthday of Florence Nightingale. Nurses are at the forefront of fighting the coronavirus pandemic. So how can you help?
            • The Back To The Future Reunion Is Wildly Entertaining And For A Great Cause
              May 11, 2020 – GameSpot
              Josh Gad’s new series is a fundraiser for Project HOPE, which delivers masks and protective equipment to health workers on the front line of the pandemic.
            • Back to the Future cast reunite from coronavirus quarantine to relive classic moments
              May 11, 2020 – USA Today
              The stars of the hit ’80s film series reunited virtually on Monday — nearly 35 years since the first film hit theaters — to reminisce while raising money for Project HOPE’s coronavirus relief efforts.
            • Back to the Future Cast Reunites for Josh Gad’s Retro Series Fundraiser
              May 11, 2020 – The Hollywood Reporter
              The cast of Back to the Future reunited for an online video, a second in a series of fundraising projects spearheaded by Josh Gad, dubbed Reunited Apart.
            • Back To The Future cast members getting back together for Josh Gad’s ‘Reunited Apart’ YouTube series
              May 6, 2020 – NY Daily News
              Josh Gad, best-known as the voice of Olaf the snowman in Frozen, has been using the Reunited Apart episodes as an effort to raise money for a COVID-19 charity. The Back To The Future special will support Project HOPE.
            • Avril Lavigne honoring frontline workers with new music video ‘We Are Warriors’
              May 1, 2020 – CNN
              Avril Lavigne re-recorded her single “Warrior” off her Head Above Water album, and net proceeds from the song and new music video go to Project HOPE, which is providing support to health care workers around the world.
            • Here’s How Celebs Are Helping Out During the Coronavirus Pandemic
              May 1, 2020 – Billboard
              Ricky Martin has launched a new campaign to help health care workers save lives across the globe through the nonprofit organization Project HOPE.
            • Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher send planeload of PPE to UK frontline workers
              April 29, 2020 – Page Six
              Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher quietly partnered with Salesforce mogul Marc Benioff to donate a planeload of PPE supplies to front-line medical workers in the UK, and Cohen is also working with Project HOPE in the US..
            • Did Trump ship 17 tons of ‘American’ masks and medical supplies to China?
              April 22, 2020 – Washington Post
              These were actually donations by private charities and public companies for Project HOPE, an international health-care organization that has been operating in Wuhan for a quarter-century and helped establish a nursing school there.
            • Avril Lavigne Announces New Re-Recorded Single ‘We Are Warriors’ To Honour ‘Heroic’ Frontline Workers
              April 22, 2020 – msn.com
              Avril Lavigne reveals she’ll be donating profits from the single to Project Hope, “an incredible organization that is on the front lines keeping doctors and medical staff safe all over the world.”⁣
            • Ricky Martin launches campaign to keep health workers safe amid coronavirus
              March 23, 2020 – Billboard
              Puerto Rican superstar Ricky Martin launched a campaign to help health care workers save lives across the globe, in partnership with Project HOPE.
            • Coronavirus: Africa has few cases so far but ‘it’s just a matter of time’ before major outbreak
              March 13, 2020 – South China Morning Post and POLITICO
              Project HOPE chief health officer and former director of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Center for Global Health Thomas Kenyon discussed the threat Africa faces from coronavirus.
            • Coronavirus coverage elbows aside disease-awareness pushes
              March 9, 2020 – MM&M
              With many health awareness efforts in March, COVID-19 still dominated headlines. Cinira Baldi, VP and chief communications officer at Project HOPE, talked with MM&M about what that means for non-profit messaging strategies.
            • So you’ve been asked to self-quarantine. Here’s what you should know.
              March 9, 2020 – Washington Post
              Project HOPE director of emergency response and preparedness Tom Cotter advises on how to prepare for a quarantine.
            • China coronavirus public health response was ‘unprecedented’ in scale: Expert
              March 4, 2020 – Fox Business
              Project HOPE executive vice president Chris Skopec discusses Project HOPE’s efforts to fight coronavirus on the ground in China.
            • Mike Pompeo and Alex Azar: Our coronavirus response is protecting Americans
              February 11, 2020 – USA Today
              While the State Department managed the logistics, the donations themselves were provided by American organizations and coordinated by a nongovernmental organization called Project HOPE
            • Coronavirus: UPS airlifts masks and protective equipment
              January 31, 2020 – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
              UPS is airlifting supplies of respirator masks and protective gear to Project HOPE’s team in China for distribution to healthcare workers amid the coronavirus outbreak.
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