Financial Times: Ebola is almost gone but the viral threat remains
Anjana Ahuja, science commentator

“…By the start of next year, four influential reports on post-Ebola global health governance will have been published; one … has already called for a separate body within WHO to coordinate emergency preparedness. Other reports are likely to echo its suggestion that the body should be bankrolled by a ring-fenced fund and run fearlessly by its own director, who would have the power to call countries and companies to account. Currently, the WHO cannot force countries to notify it of outbreaks — and cannot penalize unaffected countries that sever trade and travel links. This cold-shouldering turns medical emergencies into economic ones. … Stricken nations thus need to be given incentives (and insured) to reveal epidemics early, and others given incentives not to cut links. A new body under the WHO umbrella just needs political willpower, and it should be the real test of lessons learnt” (11/18).