FLICKR, ARMY MEDICINEThe ongoing Ebola outbreak has put the World Health Organization (WHO) in the spotlight, and according to a report issued this week (July 7) by an independent panel of public-health experts, the agency “does not currently possess the capacity or organizational culture to deliver a full emergency public health response.”
Specifically, the panel found that the WHO is underfunded, slow to respond, and too dependent on “good diplomacy.” The report said that the agency took too long to declare a public health emergency in West Africa—in August 2014, after more than 1,000 Ebola-related deaths—and specifically called out Director General Margaret Chan for lacking “independent and courageous decision making.” Chan previously acknowledged that she should have declared the Ebola situation a public health emergency sooner than she did.
The panel suggested that the WHO likely shied away from challenging local governments for fear of the economic and trade consequences, and noted that regional and national WHO representatives may do well to lead the charge in future emergency situations. It also called for donor countries to immediately ...
