TheEbolavirusdiseaseisoftenfatalinhumans,transmittedfromwildanimalsandspreadviahuman-to-humantransmission.In2014,theWestAfricancountriesofGuinea,SierraLeoneandLiberiawereatthecenterofthelargestEbolaepidemicinhistory,resultingin11,310deaths,andnowtheyhavebeenEbola-freesinceJune2016accordingtotheWHO.
Byallaccounts,thereisachangeinattitudeandcommitmenttothisoutbreakfromboththeinternationalcommunityandtheDRCitself.Areviewof2014hasmostobserversagreeingonthefracturedandslowwayinwhichthecrisiswashandled.Inaddition,therewerenovaccinesavailableatthattime.
Afterthat,testsconductedinGuineaandpublishedinthemedicaljournalTheLancetinFebruary2016showedthattheinterimassessmentoftherVSV-ZEBOVvaccineofferssubstantialprotectionagainstEbola.WhilethevaccinehasyettoreceiveapprovalfromtheU.S.FoodandDrugAdministration,itcouldbeusedinanemergencyoutbreak.TheWHOsaiditwoulddecideonthisusage,alongwithotherkeyplayers,ifandwhendeploymentofthevaccineiswarranted.Aninitial300,000dosesofthevaccinewereavailableincaseofanemergency.
TheWHOborethebruntofinternationalcensureoveritstardyresponsetothe2014outbreak.SincethattimeithasputinplaceaHealthEmergenciesProgramdesignedtoassistcountriesaffectedtorecoverfromsuchemergenciesrapidly,throughbetterpreparation,preventionandresponsetime.
Sodespitethisoutbreakcausingjittersamongthehealthcommunity,theWHO鈥檚improvedresponseinthiscasewasevident.TheorganizationusedsocialmediatodisseminatethenewsassoonasithadbeennotifiedbytheDRC鈥檚MinistryofHealthanddispatcheditsAfricaregionalofficechiefMatshidisoMoetitothecountry鈥檚capitalKinshasa,withateamofWHOexpertstwodayslater.Thisteamassistedinacountrywidecampaigntoengagewithcommunitiesandmaintainawarenessaboutthevirus,workingwithotherkeypartners.Inaddition,asmentionedabove,theuseofthevaccinewasdiscussed.
Thispositiveandtimelyinternationalresponsetoahealthcrisisonthecontinentisencouragingandlongoverdue.AlsocrucialinthislatestoutbreakistheinterventionoftheAfricaCentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention(AfricaCDC).BasedinAddisAbabaandlaunchedinJanuary,itisacollaborationbetweentheAfricanUnionandAfricancountriestoimprovethecontinent鈥檚publichealthsystem,specificallyinthepost-2014Ebolaera.AfricaCDCissupportedbyChinaandtheUnitedStates.
JohnNkengasong,DirectoroftheAfricaCDCsaidtheyhaveactivatedtheEmergencyOperationCentertocloselymonitorthesituationandtheirteamofexpertswouldworkwiththeDRC,theWHOandpartnersonthegroundasrequired.
Learninglessonsfromthepastandwithallthesepartnerspullinginthesamedirection,Africastandsamuchbetterchanceofdealingwithhealthemergenciesgoingforward.