Global Health – PBS NewsHour PBS

As smoking rates have fallen in the U.S. and Europe, tobacco companies have focused their advertising elsewhere, especially Asia. In the Philippines, 25 percent of the population smokes, and cigarettes are a leading cause of death. But one former smoker is cultivating a grassroots campaign to influence legislation and publicize the dangers -- especially to children. Hari Sreenivasan reports.

Pandemics like Zika and Ebola can originate in one continent and quickly spread to another. To stop outbreaks before they start, scientists are trying to identify regions conducive to the development of new disease. One target is southern China, where factors such as daily wildlife trade and sewage-filled rivers have repeatedly led to the rise of new viruses. Hari Sreenivasan reports.

The Centers for Disease Control have released new guidelines for combating Zika virus, including a recommendation that men refrain from unprotected sex with women who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant. Judy Woodruff talks with science correspondent Miles O’Brien, reporting from Brazil, about efforts by the CDC to work with medical services in Brazil to unravel the secrets of Zika.

How effective will new U.S. aid and military support be in fighting Ebola? Laurie Garrett of the Council on Foreign Relations and Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown Law School join Judy Woodruff for a deep dive into the plan. Then special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro offers an update from Nigeria, a country that has been relatively successful in controlling the deadly virus.

The United States will offer 3,000 troops and financial help to health care systems in West Africa that are overwhelmed by Ebola. President Obama announced that U.S. forces will build new treatment facilities, airlift hundreds of thousands of home health kits and train and treat health care workers. Meanwhile, the WHO predicts that infections will double every three weeks. Judy Woodruff reports.

The number of deaths from the worst Ebola outbreak on record has now surpassed 2,300. To combat the epidemic, the U.S. has pledged funds, research and additional medical resources. Judy Woodruff sits down with Nancy Lindborg of the U.S. Agency for International Development for a detailed look at what the U.S. is providing.