Whereas the Ebola outbreak is coming to an end, the international community takes stock. The virus has claimed 11,000 lives in West Africa. This dramatic toll could have been much less significant if the affected countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone had had strong health systems, says the WHO.
In recent days several reports have attempted to establish responsibilities in this carnage. The UN, MSF and even the WHO have recognized the impact of infrastructure deficiencies, the lack of preparation and equipment of the medical teams on site in the progression of the epidemic. The fragile health systems in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, plagued by conflict and poverty are also singled out.
This reflection on after Ebola is coupled with concern for the future: the WHO recalls that too many countries are still vulnerable to the pandemic threat. At least 28 other countries around the world, mostly in Africa but also in Asia and Latin America, have health systems as weak as the countries that were hit by Ebola. It is urgent to react, for the WHO. “We must put in place systems capable of resisting” such disasters, whether it is an epidemic like Ebola or a natural disaster, enjoins Dr Rüdiger Krech, director at the WHO of the department of ethics and social determinants of the health, quoted by AFP.
Corruption, a serious obstacle to the reform of health systems
The WHO has promised an increase in its budget to encourage countries to improve their health systems. But this financial windfall risks coming up against a major obstacle: corruption. “In many countries with weak health systems, corruption is endemic, and there is a lack of transparency in how funds are spent,” Dr Krech explained.
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