Liberia

Margaret Chan, the director general of the World Health Organization.
Credit Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone, via Associated Press

nytimes.com - by The Editorial Board - February 10, 2015

The World Health Organization’s anemic performance in handling the Ebola outbreaks in West Africa may yield one positive outcome: sweeping, and long overdue, institutional reforms to improve its ability to respond more quickly to the next outbreak of a lethal infectious disease. Scrambling to answer growing criticism, the W.H.O.’s executive board recently endorsed changes to enhance the agency’s rapid response capabilities.

The reforms call for well-trained public health workers to rush to the aid of beleaguered countries and an emergency fund to support their initial operations, among other advances.

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(CLICK HERE - WHO - RESOLUTION AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION)

submitted by Novil Wijesekara

communityresiliencecenter.org

Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a severe, illness in human with average case fatality rate of around 50% (range 25%-90%). At present, survivors of EVD face psychological effects, social isolation and serious repercussions on health care seeking behavior for EVD.  Ebola Survivor Corps is a comprehensive and sustainable program aimed at getting survivors of EVD back to their communities and society as helpers, advocates, champions and heroes of health and development.

Vision of Ebola Survivor Corps:

A world with zero discrimination for Ebola Survivors

Mission of Ebola Survivor Corps:

To establish a comprehensive and sustainable social organization with Ebola Survivors at the heart for reintegrating, empowering and engaging Ebola Survivors as leaders, advocates, champions and heroes of health and development.

Objectives:

AFP                                                                      Feb. 3, 2015
GENEVA: The World Health Organization said Tuesday it had appointed its assistant director-general Bruce Aylward to head its overall response to the deadly Ebola outbreak.

It also said an independent commission was being created to assess WHO's widely criticised response to the epidemic, after the UN agency admitted last month it had been caught napping on Ebola and pledged reforms to avoid similar mistakes in the future.

WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told reporters that Alward, a Canadian, will be responsible for coordinating all the different aspects of the agency's response to the devastating outbreak, which has killed nearly 9,000 people, almost all of them in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

One Lesson: Rush to Help, not to declare victory

EDITORIAL    THE WASHINGTON POST                                Jan. 31, 2015

THE WORLD’S tardy response to the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa, which has killed 8,810 people, demands that lessons be learned.

 Toward that end, a fresh batch of scientific reports has emerged in recent days to guide future responses. The World Health Organization, which stumbled in the initial period, seems to be recognizing its mistakes and looking for ways to correct them.... it is vital to keep medical interventions in place for long periods — and a big mistake to declare victory too early. The research also shows that most transmission of Ebola occurred in families....