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UK should have listened to Ebola warnings, report says | UK should have listened to Ebola warnings, report says |
(about 5 hours later) | |
The UK government should have paid more attention to warnings about Ebola before a formal emergency was declared, a group of MPs has said in a report. | |
A Commons committee said the government had been "too reliant" on the World Health Organisation (WHO) system, which declared an emergency in August 2014. | |
Instead it should have listened to other groups that were warning about Ebola months earlier, the report said. | Instead it should have listened to other groups that were warning about Ebola months earlier, the report said. |
But the government said its "swift and effective action" saved thousands. | |
The WHO has since set out plans to reform after health experts said its response to the outbreak was too slow. | The WHO has since set out plans to reform after health experts said its response to the outbreak was too slow. |
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was first reported in March 2014. | The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was first reported in March 2014. |
Some 11,315 people are reported to have died from the disease in six countries: Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, the US and Mali. | Some 11,315 people are reported to have died from the disease in six countries: Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, the US and Mali. |
'Pick up on warnings' | |
The Commons' international development committee said groups like Medecins Sans Frontieres had raised the alarm about Ebola months before the WHO did. | The Commons' international development committee said groups like Medecins Sans Frontieres had raised the alarm about Ebola months before the WHO did. |
The committee said the Department for International Development (DfID) "must ensure it has the ability to listen and react to information and warnings from a range of sources". | The committee said the Department for International Development (DfID) "must ensure it has the ability to listen and react to information and warnings from a range of sources". |
Instead it was "still relying too much on improvements on the international system without improving its own ability to independently assess international public health risks", the MPs concluded. | Instead it was "still relying too much on improvements on the international system without improving its own ability to independently assess international public health risks", the MPs concluded. |
Committee chairman Stephen Twigg said: "The international community relied on WHO to sound the alarm for an international emergency on the scale of Ebola. The organisation's failure to respond quickly enough is now well documented. | Committee chairman Stephen Twigg said: "The international community relied on WHO to sound the alarm for an international emergency on the scale of Ebola. The organisation's failure to respond quickly enough is now well documented. |
"DfID operated effectively once the international response began in earnest. | "DfID operated effectively once the international response began in earnest. |
"However, the department should have been able to pick up on warnings from sources beyond the established international system." | "However, the department should have been able to pick up on warnings from sources beyond the established international system." |
'Reform a priority' | |
The committee also said it should be made easier for small sums of aid funding to be allocated after hearing from a doctor who was refused £7,500 in the early stages of the outbreak. | The committee also said it should be made easier for small sums of aid funding to be allocated after hearing from a doctor who was refused £7,500 in the early stages of the outbreak. |
An inability to deal with small sums "may have hampered" the response, the report said, cautioning that "playing catch-up" usually proved more expensive. | An inability to deal with small sums "may have hampered" the response, the report said, cautioning that "playing catch-up" usually proved more expensive. |
Mr Twigg added: "It is vital that these lessons are learned as every delay counts. We urge DfID to lead efforts and make this reform a priority." | Mr Twigg added: "It is vital that these lessons are learned as every delay counts. We urge DfID to lead efforts and make this reform a priority." |
A DfID spokeswoman said the UK was "at the forefront of tackling this unprecedented epidemic" and this was "months before the first cases of Ebola were confirmed in Sierra Leone. | |
"We simultaneously pushed the international system to respond more quickly," she said. | |
"From rapidly deploying NHS medics and military personnel to building treatment centres, our swift and effective action helped save thousands of lives and contain the spread of the disease. | |
"Our flexible response is now ensuring Sierra Leone can isolate and treat new cases of Ebola before they spread." |
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