WHO Admits Fudging Ebola Response, Blames ‘Incompetent Staff’, Swine Flu Experience

The World Health Organization (WHO) has admitted that its initial response to the Ebola outbreak was slow and disorganized, blaming a lack of information sharing, incompetent staff and the negative experience in the Swine Flu pandemic of 2009.  In a draft memo seen by AP, the WHO blames its own experts for not understanding it would be difficult to contain the disease in a region with dilapidated health systems and slack border control.  “Nearly everyone involved in the outbreak response failed to see some fairly plain writing on the wall,” the document read.

Dr Peter Piot, who co-discovered the deadly virus, said that the WHO has acted far too slowly, mainly because of its Africa office."It’s the regional office in Africa that’s the frontline. And they didn’t do anything. That office is really incompetent,”“ he said.

The organization also noted that many of the people in charge at their offices in Africa are “politically motivated appointments” and that the WHO’s regional director for Africa doesn’t answer to the overall head in Geneva, Dr Margaret Chan.  WHO said it was “alarming” that the head of the Guinea office didn’t help the organization get visas for an expert team to come to the Ebola ravaged country, and that $500,000 worth of aid was held up by bureaucracy. Guinea has so far seen 843 people die from Ebola...