Devex - Criticism over Ebola response 'far from reality' — WHO official

"More than a year has passed since the first human contracted the deadly Ebola virus that led to an unprecedented outbreak in West Africa. So-called patient zero, a two-year-old in the remote Guinean village of Meliandou, became ill on Dec. 26, 2013, and died two days later.

The World Health Organization, however, did not publish any official notification of Ebola on its website until March 25 of this year.

Since then, WHO, global aid organisations and governments from around the world have battled to halt the disease. As the start of 2015 draws nearer, the epidemic is still raging and has now topped 19,340 reported cases resulting in 7,518 deaths, according to the latest figures released Monday by the U.N. health agency.

Devex caught up with Dr. Maria Neira, director of WHO’s Public Health and Environment Department, which focuses on preventative measures and the root causes of diseases, to know more about how the Ebola epidemic has affected her work, as well as what lessons she has learned so far from the response to the outbreak, and how it might change future WHO operations as a result..."

Read the full article on Devex.com.