WASHINGTON, October 3 (RIA Novosti) - A paradigm shift is needed at the World Health Organization (WHO), which was under-resourced and not prepared for the Ebola outbreak, Bockari Kortu Stevens, Ambassador from Sierra Leone to the United States said.
"So maybe there should be a paradigm shift here to get the WHO, perhaps, to be ready for these kinds of emergencies," said Ambassador Stevens in brief remarks at the Atlantic Council Thursday.
According to Ambassador Stevens, the WHO failed to mount an adequate, timely response to the Ebola due to recent years' budget cuts and red tape.
"The moment the epidemic was discovered first thing they did was to inform the WHO and we think they were under-resourced, there was a lot of red tape. From what I know, from what I've been reading, they were not prepared," he added.
"One would have assumed that they were ready ... but they were not ready, they didn't have the money to do it," Ambassador Stevens concluded.
The Ebola outbreak that emerged in a small number of West African nations early in 2014 has now claimed approximately 3,300 lives with 7,000 individuals reportedly infected. Sierra Leone has been affected with over 600 deaths and 2300 cases according to the Center for Disease Control.
According to Donald Lu, Deputy Coordinator for Ebola Response at the State Department, since the United Nations meeting last week, there have been commitments from 30 countries and 5 financial institutions to contribute to the fight against Ebola. This is a substantial increase in aid and needed support in combating the epidemic.
