They may create fantastical fiction for us on the big screen, but Jennifer Lawrence and her co-stars are committed to keeping the realities of Ebola in our consciousness as well.
In a new PSA by the Ebola Survival Fund, Lawrence teamed up with fellow "Hunger Games" stars Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Jeffrey Wright, Mahershala Ali and Julianne Moore to bring the critical Ebola outbreak in West Africa back into the discussion.
The PSA reminds viewers that 19,643 of the 19,648 cases worldwide have been in West Africa, and ongoing transmission is still leaving communities in crisis situations across the region. According to NBC News, Liberian authorities confirmed Monday that dozens of new cases have sprung up along the country's border with Sierra Leone -- another devastated nation that recently canceled public Christmas celebrations in an attempt to halt the virus, as USA Today reported.
"People infected by the Ebola virus in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone don't have access to the same medical treatment as Americans," the actors say in the video.
"They need IV fluids to maintain blood pressure, electrolytes to replenish losses, and also food -- just like any other critically ill patient would," Dr. Paul Farmer, founder of nonprofit Partners In Health, explains to viewers.
The Ebola Survival Fund, which works in conjunction with the United Nations supporting community-based groups fighting the disease in Liberia and Sierra Leone, has utilized the power of Hollywood before. Whoopi Goldberg, Alicia Keys and Idris Elba, among other celebrities, teamed up with the organization in October to produce a PSA with a similar message directed at those in a position to help.
To learn more about the Ebola Survivor Fund, visit the organization's website. You can also support UNICEF's efforts to combat Ebola through the fundraising widget below.
