Scientific American: After Ebola, a Blueprint Emerges to Jump-Start R&D
Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO assistant director general for health systems and innovation

“…The Ebola epidemic in West Africa has been called a wake-up call for so many reasons. … From where I sit in Geneva, the response by the global health and R&D communities awakens hope. There are many diseases with the potential to trigger chaos and human suffering, but we have learned how to jumpstart research and development to address epidemics as they occur and stem the tide of suffering from these diseases. We have also learned that we must take some critical research steps proactively before another wake-up call. We are now in a position to design a framework for how to prepare for and respond in the most challenging public health crises. That framework needs fine tuning, and the support of the international community so that next time we are prepared to move forward more quickly, and halt the epidemic before it becomes the next dire crisis” (5/20).