Dr. Kevin Cahill Honored with Ireland's Distinguished Service Award

Dr. Kevin Cahill, left, with Ireland's President Michael D. Higgins.

Kevin M. Cahill, M.D., University Professor and founder of Fordham's Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs, was recognized on Oct. 30 by the government of Ireland for his tremendous work in peace, reconciliation, and development. 

In a ceremony in Dublin, Dr. Cahill was presented with the 2014 Presidential Distinguished Service Award by Ireland's President, Michael D. Higgins. Actress Fionnula Flanagan, top EU civil servant Catherine Day, Australian author Thomas Keneally, and Irish-American activist and newspaper publisher Niall O’Dowd were amongst those who were also honored.

The award is given to individuals living outside of Ireland who have made great contributions to Ireland, Irish communities abroad, as well as Ireland's international reputation.  Dr. Cahill also serves as the president of the Center for International Humanitarian Cooperation, a nongovernmental organization that promotes healing and peace in nations shattered by national disasters, armed conflicts, or other violence. 

Congratulations, Dr. Cahill!

Fordham Infectious Disease Specialist Talks to Media about Ebola

As two Ebola-infected humanitarian healthcare workers are transported to Emory University in Atlanta for treatment, concern about a potential outbreak is heating up. Fordham’s Alexander van Tulleken has appeared on various media outlets to discuss whether such fears are warranted.

Alexander van Tulleken, M.D.
File Photo by Patrick Verel

An infectious disease specialist and a senior fellow with Fordham’s Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs, van Tulleken has appeared on Al Jazeera America, MSNBC’s “Melissa Harris-Perry Show,” and locally, Fox-5 New York, with the same message:

“It’s very hard to catch this virus,” he says of Ebola, of which there is no cure, and causes hemorrhagic fever that kills at least 60 percent of the people it infects in Africa. Ebola spreads through close contact with bodily fluids and blood, meaning it is not spread as easily as airborne influenza or the common cold.

In this interview with New York’s Fox 5, he discussed the Ebola vaccine currently in trials, and also explained that the virus has been in the country for some time with the Center for Disease Control’s research. Watch here:

In this segment with MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry, van Tulleken says that rather than worrying about a vaccine, “what we need to be doing is containing this epidemic in West Africa.” He also says prevention is always underfunded. “What we’re seeing is a failure of the international system to respond to this virus, and this is a virus we should care about for humanitarian reasons. These countries are really neglected, and that’s why it’s spreading.”

Image via NBC News

Watch both MSNBC segments below, and visit our YouTube page for more media appearances by van Tulleken and other Fordham faculty.

-Gina Vergel

Switzerland, Aide Workers, and Humanitarian Challenges:Two Perspectives

On Tuesday, Oct. 15, Fordham's Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs will present a panel discussion on neutrality, humanitarian principles, and more, co-sponsored with the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York: "Current Humanitarian Challenges--Two Perspectives: Switzerland and the ICRC," features a discussion between speakers Ambassador Francois Garras, consul general of Switzerland in New York, and the IIHA's Executive Director Brendan Cahill.

Panelists commenting include Ambassador Manuel Bessler, head of the Humanitarian Aide Department for Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and Walter Füllemann, head of delegation to the United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross. 

Larry Hollingworth, visiting professor at Fordham's Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs, will moderate. 

2 p.m. | 12th-floor Lounge/Corrigan Center, Lowenstein Center, Lincoln Center Campus

Those interested in attending should contact Kasia Laskjowski at Laskowski@fordham.edu

Fordham Theatre Student Shines in Global Humanitarian Competition

My name is Brandon Jackson. I am a sophomore theatre major at Fordham University. I was recently selected to participate in Faces of Transformation, a global humanitarian competition sponsored by Nations United, a Toronto-based humanitarian company.

The goal of Faces of Transformation is to raise awareness about humanitarian and developmental projects around the world and to move forward Nations United’s mission of bringing nations together through social media.

Participants were chosen from more than 6,000 nominations from 40 different countries based on previous humanitarian and developmental work. For the final rounds of competition, Nations United selected 11 men and women from 11 countries. I am honored to represent the United States. 


The program launched in September 2011 and will continue for the next six months.


Each month, Nations United gives participants a challenge, which is designed to benefit our individual humanitarian and developmental projects. At the end of each challenge, the participants with the lowest three scores are sent to the “Red Zone,” where online viewers vote on which red-zoner is allowed to return to the competition.

The winner of the contest will become the 2012 face of Nations United and help implement the project he or she developed during the competition.

Before the competition, Nations United asked me to focus my project on media. I am currently creating an interactive app tailored to children in early development that deals with collaboration and multiculturalism. Once complete, the app will serve as a tool for teachers and parents to make children more aware of the world around them and to show them how to become better citizens

I have worked in the humanitarian field since 2006, when I started as a fundraiser for the Hope for Honduran Children Foundation. I raised more than $200,000 for the organization. Since then, I have served in many advisory positions and have many projects in the works.

For more information about Face of Transformation, click here.

You can also join the Faces of Transformation in the USA Facebook group here. 


—Brandon Jackson

Haiti Crisis Update: How to Help

Friday, Jan. 22, 2010

Humanitarian crisis experts agree that the best way to help the people of Haiti right now is to donate money to reputable organizations involved in the relief effort. Collections of goods, such as food, clothing and medicine, are well meaning, but do far less to improve conditions in the disaster area than monetary donations. Likewise, traveling to Haiti as a volunteer is probably neither possible nor helpful at this stage of the crisis. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), outlines the very limited conditions under which goods and services might be helpful in Haiti on its website: www.usaid.gov/helphaiti

See the information and links on Fordham's home page for ways to donate to relief efforts in Haiti.