WHO's delay in sounding Ebola alarm 'egregious failure,' expert panel says

A specialist panel convened by Harvard's Global HealthInstitute (HGHI) and the London School of Hygiene & TropicalMedicine (LSHTM) said while the epidemic "engendered acts ofoutstanding courage and solidarity,"it also caused "immensehuman suffering, fear and chaos" which went "largely unchecked"by leadership or reliable and rapid institutional responses.

• Post-Ebola Syndrome: Survivors continue to face mystery symptoms
• Morecoverage of the outbreak

"We need to strengthen core capacities in all countries todetect, report and respond rapidly to small outbreaks in orderto prevent them from becoming large-scale emergencies," saidPeter Piot, LSHTM's director and the chair of the panel.

The panel made 10 key reform proposals aimed at preventingfuture such catastrophes, including:

• Developing and investingcore capacities to handle infectious disease outbreaks.
• Strengthening incentives for early reporting of outbreaks.
• Science-based justifications for trade and travel restrictions.

Liberian panel member Mosoka Fallah of the campaign groupAction Contre La Faim International, said the human misery anddeaths should prompt serious reflection "on how and why theglobal response to the greatest Ebola calamity in human historywas late, feeble and uncoordinated."

The Ebola epidemic has killed at least 11,300 people inGuinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since it began in December2013. The crisis brought already weak health services to theirknees and caused social and economic havoc.

"The most egregious failure was by WHO in the delay insounding the alarm," said Ashish K. Jha, HGHI's director and aleading member of the panel. "People at WHO were aware thatthere was an Ebola outbreak that was getting out of control byspring, and yet it took until August to declare a public healthemergency."

Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust global healthcharity, said the report had "sobering lessons" which must belearned and "translated into concrete action if we are to avertanother crisis."

In April, WHOadmitted serious failings in its handling of the Ebola crisis and pledged reforms.