GENEVA, (Reuters) – Efforts to curb the deadly Ebola epidemic that swept across four West African states are being undermined by a lack of leadership and emergency management skills, the international head of Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Thursday.
In an interview, Joanne Liu also said the world’s worst ever outbreak of Ebola has caused widespread panic and the collapse of health care systems particularly in Liberia, where pregnant women have lost babies while seeking a safe place to deliver. She said Western nations must dispatch more experts in tropical medicine, especially field workers who know how to help communities prevent the often lethal virus from spreading.
And the World Health Organisation (WHO) must fulfil its leading role in coordinating the international response to the epidemic, the president of the global, Swiss-based medical charity told Reuters by telephone.
