Report of the Ebola Interim Assessment Panel

In January 2015, the WHO Executive Board requested an interim assessment, by a panel of outside independent experts, on all aspects of WHO’s response to the Ebola outbreak. The Director-General established a panel to undertake this work in early March 2015. The Panel reviewed many reports and met with key people within and outside WHO, including senior WHO staff, representatives of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), international non-governmental organisations and Member States. The Panel also visited the three severely affected countries and the Regional Office for Africa.

This assessment is to be a learning exercise for everyone concerned in the Ebola crisis. The Panel’s overriding concern was to understand what happened and to advise on the resources, systems, people, and changes in the organisational structure and culture needed to improve the future performance of WHO.

The Ebola crisis not only exposed organisational failings in the functioning of WHO, but it also demonstrated shortcomings in the International Health Regulations (2005). The current report and recommendations thus fall under the following three headings: the International Health Regulations (2005); WHO’s health emergency response capacity; and WHO’s role and cooperation with the wider health and humanitarian systems.