A large-scale human trial of two potential ebola vaccines got under way in Liberia’s capital yesterday, part of a global effort to prevent a repeat of the epidemic that has now claimed nearly 9,000 lives in West Africa.

An experimental ebola vaccine has triggered promising immune responses from 20 healthy volunteers taking part in a preliminary trial.

The World Health Organisation yesterday set out plans for speeding up development and deployment of experimental ebola vaccines, saying hundreds of thousands of doses should be ready for use in West Africa by the middle of 2015.

While the desire to develop drugs and vaccines are appealing and may help save lives, strengthening health systems in developing countries to make better use of existing tools is as important in combating diseases like ebola, writes Celine Gounder.