WHO Must Be Held Accountable For Changes Recommended In Ebola Interim Assessment Panel Report

The Lancet: A plan to protect the world — and save WHO
Editorial Board

“…The [final report of the Ebola Interim Assessment Panel, chaired by Dame Barbara Stocking,] makes clear that global health must be put at the center of the global security agenda. But while its recommendations are cogent, there are three important omissions that deserve attention. First, the Panel does not address the vicious cycle within which WHO is caught. … As the agency continues to underperform because of chronic underinvestment, so that lack of confidence (and the resultant unwillingness to invest) only worsens. … Second, …[u]niversal health coverage should have been emphasized as a crucial instrument in building global health security. Finally, … nowhere does the Panel recommend the accountability mechanism to monitor and review the implementation of its recommendations. Our fear is that the unique opportunity presented by the Stocking Report will be squandered. … [WHO Director-General Margaret Chan] has 20 months to save her agency from further and possibly irreversible reputational damage” (7/11).

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