The latest Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has not been as bad as was feared, but the biggest issue is we have not learned important lessons from prior Ebola outbreaks, according to an article on the Healio website.
For instance, a strong, coordinated leadership by local health departments, ministries of health, elected officials, nongovernmental organizations like Doctors without Borders and the World Health Organization (WHO) is crucial.
At the global level, WHO has learned its lesson. This year may be the first time that a WHO director-general visited an outbreak zone early in the response.
But the bigger question is when the world will invest in logistics. Getting into and out of rural areas to deliver essential supplies and medications should be simpler, the article said.