STAT: Ebola scare shows that the world is still not ready for a major disease outbreak
Gabrielle Fitzgerald, founder and CEO of Panorama

“When cases of Ebola were detected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May, local officials moved swiftly and global resources were rushed to help them. By the time the World Health Organization declared the outbreak over on July 2, only four people had died, four more had survived the disease, and the outbreak had been contained in a remote region of the country. Three years after the West Africa Ebola outbreak was first identified in March 2014, eventually killing more than 11,000 people and striking fear of global contagion, the world’s health leaders have taken steps to ensure they can mount a better response the next time such a threat arises. But let’s not be fooled by a false sense of security. The world is still not as prepared as it should be to prevent or withstand the next disease outbreak. There is a dangerous rift between smart solutions and the political action needed to get them done. … We need to fund the steps that will strengthen global health security, and rigorously track and monitor progress made by the private sector, foundations, local governments, and the scientific community, as well as the U.N. system…” (8/4).