In This Issue:

- Leading the News

- United States – Africa Relations

- North Africa

- East Africa

- West Africa

- Sub - Saharan Africa

- General Africa News

- Excerpt from Leading the News:

West Africa Ebola Outbreak -

On February 4th, in response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) met to consider how the IMF can better support low-income countries hit by public health disasters. The Board approved the establishment of a new Catastrophe Containment and Relief (CCR) Trust as a vehicle to provide support to countries facing fast-spreading epidemics, such as Ebola, as well as other humanitarian crises. Subject to Board approval of requests from individual counties, it is expected the CCR Trust will provide grants for debt relief of close to $100 million for Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.

On February 4th, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) issued its 19th fact sheet on the West Africa Ebola outbreak. The most recent fact sheet notes that weekly Ebola case incidence increased in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone for the first time in 2015 during the week of January 26th, with the United Nations (U.N.) World Health Organization (WHO) reporting 124 new confirmed cases across all three countries. In addition, the fact sheet highlights that Ebola vaccine trials will begin in all three countries in the coming weeks.