Ebola crisis revealed WHO was not ready

The ebola crisis “exposed organisational failings” in the World Health Organisation (WHO) and has highlighted the need for it to make “fundamental changes”, an independent report has found.

The epidemic, which broke out in Guinea in December 2013, was not declared a public health emergency by WHO until August 2014 — which has been partly blamed for its rapid spread to neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia, resulting in more than 11,000 deaths.

WHO, which is part of the UN, has a number of responsibilities, including identifying any emergencies or hazards that pose a threat to human health and coordinating the response.