Learning from the Ebola Epidemic

Thirteen months ago, a series of mysterious deaths struck Guinea, killing doctors and patients. A week later on 22nd March 2014, the killer infection was confirmed to be Ebola virus disease. Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian aid organization, sounded an epidemic alarm which was dismissed by the global community. By December 2014, the Ebola epidemic had killed 7000 people across eight countries. The World Health Organization admitted that global response was too slow. As the Ebola epidemic cools, what have we learned to better prepare us for future epidemics? Dr Maria Guevara, Doctors Without Border’s Regional Humanitarian Representative in Asia, tells us more.