The Lancet Volume 385, No. 9963, p100, 10 January 2015
When the 34 members of WHO’s Executive Board gather in Geneva on Jan 25—first, for a special session on the response to the Ebola outbreak and, second, for its 136th meeting—countries will have an unprecedented opportunity to reflect on the future of the world’s only global health agency. Why unprecedented? Because, in WHO’s own words (from documents submitted to the Board and available on WHO’s website), Ebola has put “enormous strain” on the agency’s managerial structures and systems. The outbreak has had a “significant impact” on WHO’s non-Ebola work, with the result that “time-bound projects will be affected”. Read the complete Comment by Richard Horton