Foreign Policy: Three Lessons the White House Should Learn from the Ebola Outbreak
Michael Miller, consultant and adjunct associate professor at the Duke Global Health Institute

“…Instead of allowing the ‘lessons learned’ process around Ebola to default to a recommendation [for the U.S.] to simply spend more money — a typical Washington impulse — this crisis should be an opportunity to also honestly examine potential systemic weaknesses and advance policies that could be the difference between life and death for millions of people. … In cases of ‘lessons learned,’ the default course for government tends to be one that leads only to a plea for more spending — doing something different will take a commitment of effort and discipline that seem in short supply in Washington these days. By using the Ebola crisis as an opening for honest evaluation and real reforms, the president has the chance to address some critical deficiencies in our government and the weak global health-security system upon which we all depend” (8/4).