Ebola problem is deeper than it appears for WHO

THERE is mounting criticism of the World Health Organization (WHO) for its recent failure to adequately address the Ebola virus threat. Media coverage has turned from the organi- sation's missteps in health crisis monitoring, evaluation and response to a broader pattern of incompetence that has placed many long, deep-rooted structural and governance shortcomings under public scrutiny and criticism. These are not new problems but Ebola has made them alarmingly evident.

WHO's historic failures are numerous: from inadequate responses during the Aids crisis and H1N1 flu pandemic, to a cholera outbreak in Haiti that killed thousands. The Wall Street Journal has pointed out the Ebola crisis is exposing "the decay of the once-eminent public institutions that were established to contain such transnational contagions". These hard-hitting condemnations are mostly well taken and expose deep-rooted systemic problems within WHO that urgently need attention.

Other missteps have provided additional fodder for the critics. In a public relations gaffe, WHO director-general Margaret Chan proclaimed that tobacco was as great a threat as Ebola. The timing of this statement during the height of the Ebola crisis further eroded confidence in WHO's will and capacity to respond adequately to a serious and immediate public health threat. Indeed, the recent crisis may well prompt some serious soul searching within WHO itself.