And there are fears that a national crisis could turn into a regional catastrophe
SINCE LAST August, when the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began, the World Health Organisation has published regular reports that make for grim reading. With 2,204 cases and 1,479 deaths as of June 19th, this is the second-largest outbreak of Ebola in history. The failure to eliminate Ebola has been complicated by conflict, politics and the weakness of the country’s health system. Money should not be an issue in this sort of internationally led emergency response. Yet it is.
The WHO says it will have to scour its reserves to see if more money can be found. But the scale of the shortfall means that for its next planning period, which starts in July, the WHO may have to restrict its operations. Mike Ryan, head of the WHO’s health emergencies, is reluctant to say the organisation will cut any of its core funding for Ebola. This seems to mean that the WHO will, somehow, find the money for the most mission-critical aspects of the response.
Declaring a PHEIC is, strictly speaking, a technical designation that commits the WHO to issuing formal recommendations to countries on how to handle the outbreak. However, declaring a PHEIC does focus attention and might have been expected to help drum up extra money. But the WHO feels that there is moral hazard in declaring an emergency simply to raise money. It also weakens the argument for having money available to deal with outbreaks, so that there is no need to call a PHEIC.
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