Thousands of lives at risk in next major pandemic unless WHO reforms: UN report

The World Health Organization's emergency response capability is "lacking" and will put thousands of lives at risk if it is not reformed now, according to a high-level UN report on health crises.

World's preparedness and capacity to respond called woefully insufficient

Thomson Reuters Posted: Feb 08, 2016 12:26 PM EST | Last Updated: February 8, 2016

A series of reviews by global health experts have been sharply critical of WHO's response to the devastating Ebola epidemic in West Africa. (Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA)

The World Health Organization'semergency response capability is "lacking" and will putthousands of lives at risk if it is not reformed now, accordingto a high-level UN report on health crises.

"This may be the last opportunity to ensure the WHO isempowered" to build an effective emergency response capacity,warned an advance, unedited copy of the UNpanel's report,made available online over the weekend in a link on the UnitedNations' daily Journal website.

"The high risk of major health crises is widelyunderestimated and the world's preparedness and capacity to

respond is woefully insufficient," the panel, convened in thewake of the Ebola crisis, said in its report.

"If the WHO does not successfully reform, the next majorpandemic will cause thousands of otherwise preventable deaths."

The UNreport, entitled "Protecting Humanity from FutureHealth Crises", is the latest in a series of reviews by globalhealth experts which have been sharply critical of the WHO'sresponse to the devastating Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

With all eyes now focused on the response to themosquito-borne Zika virus, which has been reported in 33countries and is linked to birth defects, the agency is undereven more scrutiny. WHO chiefs have previously promised to actswiftly on reforming the agency's emergency responses.

It was not immediately clear when the final report will bepublished.

The Ebola outbreak, which began in Guinea and spread fromthere to infect thousands across Liberia and Sierra Leone,

killed more than 11,300 people.

Nosubstitute for single global health leader

The UN panel's key recommendation was for the WHO to builda new Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response, which"must have real command and control capability, access tospecialised human and operational resources to execute a healthresponse."

It also said all countries must meet the full obligations ofinternational health regulations which, among other things, set

rules on how and when to report disease outbreaks.

Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust global healthcharity, agreed with the panel's recommendation for the creationof a new centre, which he said must be "strong and independent."

"Epidemic and pandemic diseases are among the greatest ofall threats to human health and security, against which we havefor too long done too little to prepare," he said.

"After four inquiries into the preventable tragedy of Ebola,there is now a strong consensus about what must be done.

TheWHO's leadership and member states must make 2016 the year ofdecision and act now."

The UNpanel said it was "convinced that there is nosubstitute for having a single global health leader" and that

"the World Health Organization should become this leader."

But failure by the Geneva-based WHO to reform, it said, "maynecessitate consideration of alternate UN institutional responsemechanisms."

It added that too often, "global panic about epidemics hasbeen followed by complacency and inaction". It cited as examplea review of global preparedness drawn up after the 2009 H1N1 fupandemic, whose recommendations were mostly not addressed.

"Had they been implemented, thousands of lives could havebeen saved in West Africa," it said.

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External Links

Protecting Humanity from Future Health Crises (.pdf)

Thousands of lives at risk in next major pandemic unless WHO reforms: UN report

World's preparedness and capacity to respond called woefully insufficient

Nosubstitute for single global health leader

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