A group of 19 global health experts reviewing the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa harshly criticized how the World Health Organization and other bodies responded to the crisis.
The outbreak "exposed deep inadequacies in the national and international institutions responsible for protecting the public from the far-reaching human, social, economic, and political consequences of infectious disease outbreaks," their report stated.
Panelist Ashish K. Jha, director of the HGHI, said WHO was too slow in "sounding the alarm" after the initial Ebola outbreak began.
"The most egregious failure was by WHO in the delay in sounding the alarm," he said, according to the Harvard Gazette. "People at WHO were aware that there was an Ebola outbreak that was getting out of control by spring, and yet it took until August to declare a public health emergency."
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Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The Ebola virus has killed 11,000 people and infected 28,00 since the current outbreak in West Africa began in 2013, according to the panel's report. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone were the nations most badly affected.
One section of the report pointed to "systemic weaknesses" that were exposed in the outbreak, revealing there was a "lack of capacity" to detect the virus in Guinea for several months that led it to spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone.
"This phase underscored the problem of inadequate investments in health infrastructure, despite national governments’ formal commitments to do so under the International Health Regulations," the report read. "It also underscored inadequate arrangements between governments and WHO to share, validate, and respond robustly to information on outbreaks."
The panel's 10 reform proposals included a suggestion for a unified WHO outbreak response center that would give the agency "clear responsibility" and accountability, governed by an independent board.
The proposal also suggested a Standing Emergency Committee be set up as a transparent, politically-protected committee to "broaden responsibility for emergency declarations."
A representative from WHO told The Huffington Post via e-mail that the organization "welcomes the report" from the independent panel and is carefully reviewing the recommendations. In a statement, the agency said reforms are already underway:
"A number of its recommendations cover work that is already being done - including steps set in place by WHO in early 2015 and described by the Director General in her speech to the World Health Assembly in May. It is gratifying to see that there is consensus of thought on many of these key issues.
WHO led technically from the beginning, playing a central role in making the diagnosis and politically with the Director General travelling to the region and engaging with heads of state of all the affected countries. However, as the Organization has indicated already, there were operational problems in early 2014 and that is what the reforms at WHO are all about. We are building the capacities to do that and moving from technical/political organization to an operational one.
In the latter part of 2014 and 2015, WHO was able to rapidly deploy large numbers of staff with relevant expertise, peaking at 1300 staff on the ground in the affected countries and was the only agency with a presence in every prefecture, county and district. Over the past year there have been over 1,000 WHO staff members at any one time working in West Africa - often in difficult circumstances - working alongside many partners including [Doctors Without Borders], [International Federation of Red Cross] and other UN organizations."
The Survivors: Portraits Of Liberians Who Recovered From Ebola
James and Tamah Mulbah(01 of10)
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Ebola survivor James Mulbah, 2, stands with his mother, Tamah Mulbah, 28, who also recovered from Ebola in the low-risk section of the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center, after a survivors' meeting on October 16, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
Benetha Coleman(02 of10)
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Ebola survivor Benetha Coleman, 24, stands in the low-risk section of the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center after attending a survivors' meeting on October 16, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. She said that her husband and two children died due to the disease. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
Jeremra Cooper(03 of10)
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Ebola survivor Jeremra Cooper, 16, wipes his face from the heat while in the low-risk section of the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center on October 16, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. The 8th grade student said he lost six family members to the Ebola epidemic before coming down sick with the disease himself and being sent to the MSF center, where he recovered after one month. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
Zaizay Mulbah and Mark Jerry(04 of10)
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Ebola survivors Zaizay Mulbah, 34, and Mark Jerry, 30, right, stand together before their shifts as nurse's assistants at the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center on October 12, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. Jerry was a money changer and Mulbah a delivery driver before they caught the disease and went to the center, where they recovered. Doctors Without Borders hired them afterward to counsel and comfort others stricken by the disease. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
Eric Forkpa(05 of10)
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Ebola survivor Eric Forkpa, 23, stands in the low-risk section of the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center after meeting with fellow survivors on October 16, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. The college student, who is majoring in civil engineering, said he thinks he caught Ebola while caring for his sick uncle, who died of the disease. He spent 18 days at the center recovering from the virus. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
Emanuel Jolo(06 of10)
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Ebola survivor Emanuel Jolo, 19, stands in the low-risk section of the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center after a survivors' meeting on October 16, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. The high school student lost six family members and believes he caught the disease while washing the body of his father, who died of Ebola. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
Sontay Massaley(07 of10)
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Ebola survivor Sontay Massaley, 37, smiles upon her release from the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center on October 12, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. Massaley, who spent 8 days recovering from the disease in the center, said she worked as a vendor in a market before contracting the virus. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
Victoria Masah(08 of10)
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Ebola survivor Victoria Masah, 28, stands in the low-risk section of the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center on October 16, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. She said her husband and two children died of Ebola. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
Abrahim Quota(09 of10)
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Ebola survivor Abrahim Quota, 5, stands outside the JFK Ebola treatment center after recovering from the disease on October 13, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. He had arrived at the treatment center 10 days before with his parents, who both died there from the virus. The Ministry of Health was to deliver him home after his release to live with relatives. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
Lassana Jabeteh(10 of10)
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Ebola survivor Lassana Jabeteh, 36, smiles before his shift as a nurse's assistant at the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center on October 12, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. He said that he previously worked as a taxi driver and that he thinks he caught Ebola when he transported a sick policeman who vomited in his car on the way to the hospital. Doctors Without Borders hired Jabeteh after he recovered in their treatment center and he now counsels and comforts others stricken by the disease. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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