WHO defends its Ebola response after US Secretary of State criticism
The World Health Organization (WHO) has formally defended its response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after a statement from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. At a press briefing, Rubio said the WHO had been 'a little late' in its outbreak response.
The outbreak began in the Bundibugyo region of DRC and is spreading with the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. According to the latest WHO and DRC health ministry data, the case count is approaching 246 and the death toll is approaching 65. The outbreak has spread to other parts of the region and to neighbouring Uganda.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday: 'Outbreak detection is first and foremost the responsibility of national health systems. The WHO arrives when countries request our support, and we are operating quickly and effectively right now.'
Looking at the WHO's response timeline: case clusters were reported by the DRC health ministry on 4 May. The WHO held its first coordination meeting with national authorities on 6 May. The formal outbreak declaration was made on 8 May. International medical teams were deployed on 12 May. A vaccine strategy was announced on 15 May.
The context behind Rubio's criticism is the tense relationship between the United States and the WHO during the Trump administration. Last year the US cut its WHO funding contribution in half, citing 'reform demands'. Rubio's comments are being viewed as part of that wider tension.
The WHO statement also said it had deployed 145 health workers for the Ebola response in DRC and Uganda, sent 50,000 doses of vaccine to the region, and supported 12 isolation hospitals. The vaccine is being delivered as a combination of Ervebo (rVSV-ZEBOV) and a Sudan/Bundibugyo strain vaccine that is not yet fully approved.
Independent epidemiologists say the WHO response for the current outbreak is 'within the typical timeframe'. They added that criteria for declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) have not yet been met, but that the WHO emergency committee will meet next Friday.
In an editorial in The Lancet, epidemiologists argued that recent US cuts to public-health investments have 'weakened the global outbreak response'. The US had reduced its contribution to Africa CDC by two-thirds and had not budgeted for global outbreak-detection programmes at the Centers for Disease Control.
Uganda's Ministry of Health announced that travellers crossing from DRC are being monitored closely at the border and that a mobile diagnostic laboratory for the Bundibugyo strain is active at the Bundibugyo border crossing. Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi have also started risk assessment processes.
At the end of his statement, Dr Tedros said: 'Politicising the outbreak response will not stop the outbreak. We need all partners to work together so that the public-health response can function as quickly as possible.' Over the next week, the WHO will detail plans to accelerate Bundibugyo vaccine production.