The following editorial and opinion piece discuss the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

New York Times: An Ominous Ebola Forecast
Editorial Board

“The World Health Organization warned on Thursday that the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, already the largest outbreak ever recorded, is going to get much worse over the next six months, the shortest window in which it might conceivably be brought under control. … It is a frightening prospect that requires an urgent infusion of aid from public and private donors around the world. The situation as described by the health agency is so dire and the resources needed so daunting that it is hard to see how they can be supplied anytime soon. The agency issued a road map listing tasks that must be carried out by countries with Ebola cases, nearby countries, the international community, and nongovernmental organizations if the epidemic is to be contained…” (8/28).

Devex: Lessons from Ebola: The urgent need to build resilient health systems
Michael Myers, managing director at the Rockefeller Foundation

“The tragic stories coming out of West Africa about Ebola shock our sensibilities. We have more advanced tools and greater capacity for communication and collaboration than ever before to ensure these types of outbreaks don’t grow into global health crises — yet inadequate and ill-resourced national health systems lacked the capacity to mobilize these interventions to keep up with the outbreak. … The Ebola epidemic will come to an end eventually, but the challenge will not end there. If we fail to invest in 21st century health systems that meet everyone’s basic health needs, we will not only repeat today’s experience in West Africa, but also upset all other progress” (8/28).