Finishing Off Ebola

NEW YORK TIMES  OP-ED BY Ron Klain, the former White House Ebola response coordinaor                                    FEB. 20, 2015

...The world needs to do a better job of quickly detecting and responding to future outbreaks in unlikely places. The President’s Global Health Security Agenda, the government’s strategy to combat infection disease around the world, will help. But vulnerable countries, including those in Africa, need their own version of our Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so that they are not so dependent on ours.

For the hardest task of front-line epidemic fighting, our planet is too reliant on courageous and talented — but underfunded, under-equipped and volunteer-dependent — nongovernmental organizations. The world needs a permanent standing force — or a ready reserve that can be quickly organized — of public health emergency responders who have the training, gear and resources to race into a region in the early phases of epidemic control. The United States military cannot do that job every time; future outbreaks might occur in countries where our troops will not be welcomed as they were in West Africa.

Leaders of the Group of 7 nations discussed proposals for such a “white helmet” battalion last year, and should continue work on this proposal before the urgency of the current crisis fades. Another important idea is a public health brigade operated by the African Union. Finally, the World Health Organization — which has justifiably been critical of its early failings in the Ebola epidemic — must be reformed so that it can respond rapidly and with the proper personnel and equipment....

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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/21/opinion/finishing-off-ebola.html