Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence, and Josh Hutcherson–all members of the Hunger Games cast–got together recently to create a PSA to help raise awareness of and shoot down misconceptions about the recent Ebola outbreak.
The PSA was published on Monday by the Ebola Survival Fund. The fund was founded by actor Jeffrey Wright, who plays Beetee in the Hunger Games franchise’s third film. Wright also works with larger-scale programs in order to fight the deadly disease.
“The world is facing the largest Ebola outbreak in history,” Wright says in the beginning of the PSA clip.
“But the countries hit hardest are Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone,” Lawrence continuesl.
“Weren’t there just wars there?” Hutcherson asks.
#HungerGames Stars Jennifer Lawrence, @LiamHemsworth Bust Bad Ebola Buzz in New PSA (Video) http://t.co/Qa1VPAxdps pic.twitter.com/24mcsr0TFr
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) December 30, 2014
Jennifer Lawrence, of course, lets her sassy self shine through–even when discussing something as serious as Ebola.
“What would happen if you got Ebola?” she asks, then very quickly adds, “I’d be fine.”
Liam Hemsworth says, “People infected by the Ebola virus in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone…”
Julianne Moore continues his statement, saying, “…don’t have access to the same medical treatment as Americans.”
Jeffrey Wright even draws parallels between The Hunger Games and the African countries where Ebola is most prominent.
“The Hunger Games allegory aligns with this Ebola outbreak in that we, the United States, the West, relative to this, is very much like the Capitol and Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, are very much like the outer districts,” Wright said during a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. “I thought, well, let’s play with that idea as a way of highlighting the stark contrast between we, the Capitol, and they, the outer districts, and using some of the constructs from the movie as a way of shining additional light on some of the contrasts.”
Hopefully this PSA will serve to educate many on what is happening in West Africa with regard to Ebola. Maybe it will inspire some to take action and help. Kudos to Liam Hemsworth, Jeffrey Wright, Jennifer Lawrence, and the rest of the Hunger Games cast for lending their voices and faces to this very important PSA.