The Ebola epidemic has exposed gaping holes in the ability to tackle outbreaks in an increasingly interconnected world

[Gert van der Hoek]

The Ebola epidemic has exposed gaping holes in the ability to tackle outbreaks in an increasingly interconnected world, where diseases can quickly spread from remote villages to cities housing millions of people.

Cuts at W.H.O. Hurt Response to Ebola Crisis

By SHERI FINKSEPT. 3, 2014

With treatment centers overflowing, and alarmingly little being done to stop Ebola from sweeping through West African villages and towns, Dr. Joanne Liu, the president of Doctors Without Borders, knew that the epidemic had spun out of control.

The only person she could think of with the authority to intensify the global effort was Dr. Margaret Chan, the director general of the World Health Organization, which has a long history of fighting outbreaks. If the W.H.O., the main United Nations health agency, could not quickly muster an army of experts and health workers to combat an outbreak overtaking some of the world?s poorest countries, then what entity in the world would do it?


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