Improving International Governance for Global Health Emergencies: Lessons From the Ebola Crisis

The 2014–15 Ebola outbreak in West Africa has demonstrated again the urgent need for strong leadership and coordination when responding to global health emergencies.
The outbreak started in Guinea during December 2013, but cases soon began to spread to neighbouring countries Liberia and Sierra Leone. Despite 25 previous outbreaks of Ebola being successfully contained, this time the disease spread from rural to urban locations and crossed borders, becoming a global threat – an unprecedented situation.

All actors in the Ebola crisis appreciate that this has been a challenging response. We are all in uncharted waters. Many agencies (including Oxfam) have struggled to identify and establish their role in the process, and therefore meet the needs of the people within this new landscape of a widespread, infectious, deadly disease in developing countries. We must learn lessons from this unprecedented outbreak, which will require a critical perspective.