The head of the World Health Organization has called the world’s second worst Ebola outbreak a “global wake-up call” to the escalating risk of disease outbreaks spreading from conflict areas neglected by the international community. Only when there was “fear and panic” in the headlines did the international community put money into responding, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The real issue was a lack of day-to-day funding for preparedness to combat serious epidemics before they become regional or international threats, he said.
“The problem is that donors refrain from paying until there is fear and panic. That has to change. We should not be funding by huge amounts when we panic, but should be funding to avoid panic.”
Tedros added that while he believed the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be controlled in the short term – given the right security conditions – the virus would inevitably return while political instability continued in North Kivu and Iruri, the provinces at the heart of the outbreak.
“The problem is that donors refrain from paying until there is fear and panic. That has to change. We should not be funding by huge amounts when we panic, but should be funding to avoid panic.”
Tedros added that while he believed the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be controlled in the short term – given the right security conditions – the virus would inevitably return while political instability continued in North Kivu and Iruri, the provinces at the heart of the outbreak.
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