WHO contemplates reforms after admitting missteps on Ebola

In a special session on Sunday, the World Health Organization debated how to reform itself after acknowledging the organization had botched its response to the 2014 Ebola emergency.

“The Ebola outbreak revealed some inadequacies and shortcomings in this organization’s administrative, managerial, and technical infrastructures,” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said.

At its headquarters in Geneva, Chan presented a series of proposals aimed at ending the current outbreak, as well as reinforcing preparedness globally and guaranteeing the WHO’s ability to address future large-scale outbreaks.

She stressed the need to streamline recruitment for emergencies, as the current process is “too slow” and emphasized the need for a “one WHO” approach that employs universal operating procedures and tools for responding to emergencies.

According to Chan, the current rules for reporting outbreaks – International Health Regulations (IHR) – created to prevent national health emergencies from becoming global crises, are too thin. But the largest lesson she and others at WHO learned during the outbreak fight was that well-trained, and appropriately paid health care workers, are essential to stemming the spread of disease.

To date there have been more than 21,000 Ebola cases and over 8,400 deaths.

“The volatile microbial world will always deliver surprises, Chan said. “Never again should the world be caught by surprise, unprepared.”